Without You
by Bade
Summary: The sequel to Runaway. What happened during those 2 yrs between the time of Jeff's confession and the wedding? Find out now!
1. Avoiding Him

A/N: Hey, thanks for all the support from Runaway. Here's the sequel. I hope ya'll enjoy it just as much. And remember that it takes place between the love confession and the wedding. And I don't know how well this is gonna start and crap like that cause I'm having a lot of problems right now with 2 of who I thought were my best friends and a guy. So, if it's all kinda depressing in the beginning I really apologize. I'm just really emotionally drained right now. To the point where I'm hysterical almost every nite. Anyways, on with the first chapter of the sequel to Runaway.  
  
It was the morning after my whole ordeal with Jeff. I just sat up in the game room and pulled on my clothes. I sighed deeply as I looked over at Shane. A small tear ran down my cheek as I stared at his strong body. I didn't know what to do. All I knew was that I had to keep my distance from Jeff. That meant I couldn't have anything to do with him. I thought that packing up and running away would be hard, it was nothing compared to how this was gonna be.  
  
"Case? You up?" I heard Amy whisper as she peeked her head into the room. I looked up at her and closed my eyes tightly as I tried to hold back tears. "Come on, we'll go jogging and discuss this."  
  
I nodded at her and stood quietly as Shane rolled over. I walked into my room and grabbed on the clothes that I had been in the nite before, in the rain. I met Amy in the hall and we began our jog. We had been running for quite awhile before anyone said anything. "Why Ames?" I asked as I glanced over at her.  
  
"I don't know. I wish I could help. Do you know what you're gonna do?" she asked.  
  
"Avoid him."  
  
"Shane?"  
  
"No, Jeff. I can't be near him. I have to ask Vince if he can stop this storyline between us. Cause there's no way I can be with him."  
  
"Oh Casey. Maybe you should break up with Shane if you feel this strongly about Jeff."  
  
"I love Shane. I do Amy, I love him so much."  
  
"But you love Jeff too."  
  
"More than you can even imagine."  
  
"So take a break. Break up with Shane and get your head straight. If you were truly meant to be with Shane, then you'll know immediately. If you survive without him, then you know you need Jeff."  
  
"I don't think that's gonna work Amy. I just, I don't know. I wanna know why Jeff didn't say something before Shane came into my life."  
  
"I can't help you there. I can't really help you at all with this," she said as she came to a stop. I stood next to her and put my hands on my hips. I let out a deep breath and shook my head sadly.  
  
"I love him Amy. I love him so much," I cried. She wrapped her arms around me and rubbed the back of my head soothingly.  
  
"I know. I know you do," she said softly. "Let's head back. I don't think you can truly handle jogging right now."  
  
I nodded and we slowly walked back to the house. I looked up at the two story building and sighed as I shut my eyes tightly. I wiped my cheeks and slowly followed Amy into the house.  
  
"How ya doin Kiddo?" Matt asked as he leaned against the door to the living room. I shrugged my shoulders and walked upstairs.  
  
"She's gonna avoid him Matt," Amy said as she walked over to him and put her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around him tightly.  
  
"Avoid Jeff?" Matt asked unsure.  
  
"Yeah, avoid Jeff," Amy repeated.  
  
"How's that gonna work? They're in a storyline together," Matt said.  
  
"I don't know. All I know is that we have a mess on our hands," Amy said.  
  
"Jesus Christ!" Matt yelled. Amy looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. "Leave it to my fuckin brother to fuck things up!"  
  
"Matt, he couldn't help the way he felt. Just like she can't help how she truly feels. I just wish she would do something about these feelings instead of pushing them aside," Amy said with a sigh.  
  
"How was your jog?" Shane asked as he walked up behind me and put his arms around my waist. I moved myself into him as he tightened his arms. I let out a deep breath and smiled.  
  
"It was fine. Totally invigorating," I said with a laugh.  
  
"I love you," he whispered in my ear. I closed my eyes tightly and pushed back my tears.  
  
"I know, me too," I said quietly.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked turning me around to face him. He placed his hands on my waist and looked into my eyes. He looked at me so deeply that I was sure he could see what was wrong with me.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered looking down at the floor. He tilted his head me and squinted before shaking his head slowly.  
  
"I can tell something's wrong, but if you don't want to tell me, I understand. Just know that you can talk to me about anything," he said as he placed his forehead on mine. I nodded slowly and he kissed the top of my head. I gave him a small smiled and he left my room. I shut the door behind him and sat down on the edge of my bed, breaking down into tears.  
  
"Hello?" that gentle voice said into the phone.  
  
"Hi, Trish," I cried.  
  
"Casey? Are you okay? What's wrong?" she asked frantically.  
  
"It's Jeff," I sobbed trying to calm myself down.  
  
"Is he okay? Is he hurt?" she asked as her tone became one of worry.  
  
"I can only hope he is!" I said angrily.  
  
"Whoa, what's goin on?" she asked.  
  
"He's a fuckin asshole!" I yelled.  
  
"Case, calm down. What happened?"  
  
"He fuckin told me he loved me!" I screamed.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Trish, he told me he loved me," I said softly.  
  
"What's so bad about that? Just tell him you're in love with Shane."  
  
"I would, but there's one little problem with that," I said.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I'm in love with Jeff."  
  
"YOU'RE WHAT?!" she yelled.  
  
"Yeah, I'm in love with him. I don't know what to do," I said crying again.  
  
"Did you tell him you loved him?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"So go be with him. Case, it's a simple solution."  
  
"No, it's not. I love Shane. I don't want to hurt him. If Jeff couldn't tell me sooner than he doesn't deserve me!"  
  
"No, Case, he doesn't! And Shane doesn't either. Cause what you are doing is leading him on to believe that you're in love with him and not one of his good friends. Do you know how wrong that is?! Casey, that's fucked up right there. You need to get your shit together and figure something out and soon! Cause otherwise you could be one depressed and lonely person."  
  
"I'm gonna avoid Jeff," I said softly.  
  
"You can't do that. You have a storyline with him. How the hell is that gonna work?!"  
  
"I'm gonna talk to Vince and ask him to put me in a different storyline."  
  
"Honey, it doesn't work that way. You do what you're told until they tell you otherwise. You may just be in this for quite sometime."  
  
"No, I can't be. I need out and as soon as possible!"  
  
"Well, ya know what? Things don't always work that way. I gotta go. See ya tomorrow," she said before hanging up. I threw my phone on the bed and walked over to the punching bag that I had hung up in my room. I started pounding away on it and had been doing so for quite sometime when the thing broke off the rope and flew into the wall.  
  
"FUCK!" I screamed as I sat on the floor with my knees tucked under my chin.  
  
"Case?" Matt asked as he opened the door a crack. He shook his head and walked in, shutting the door behind him. He sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his body, and holding me tightly. I rested my head on his shoulder and cried. "Shhh. Everything is gonna be okay."  
  
"Matt, I don't wanna lose him, but I know I have to. Or this whole thing could just get worse. I can't have him in my life anymore. And I can't tell him. Will you please be my big brother and tell him?" I asked with a pout on my face.  
  
"Casey, you're gonna have to face him. You're in a storyline with him, you live here or at Dad's house, so how do you truly think you're going to be able to be without him?"  
  
"Please Matt? I'll think of something if you just tell him."  
  
"Alright. I'll do it. Why don't you go out and spend the day with Shane?" Matt suggested as he helped me to my feet.  
  
"Yeah, that's a good idea," I smiled through my tears as Matt wiped my face gently. "Thanks Matt. I really appreciate this."  
  
"You owe me one!" he laughed as I walked down the stairs.  
  
"Shane, ya wanna go do something?" I asked walking up behind him.  
  
"Yeah, sure. I actually have something in mind. But let's go grab some food so we can talk it over," Shane smiled as we walked out holding hands.  
  
"Where are you going?" Amy asked as she watched Matt pull on his sneakers.  
  
"I have to go talk to that dumbass of a brother for her," Matt said.  
  
"Matt, maybe you shouldn't get involved in this. This is their problem. You don't know what could happen by getting involved in it," Amy said.  
  
"I know, but she's my little sister and I have to protect her. It's my job," Matt shrugged as he headed off towards Jeff's. He walked up Jeff's driveway and saw him sitting on the porch. He looked like a truck had hit him. His hair was all over the place, his clothes looked as if they had been slept in, and he had bottles and cans of alcohol around him. "Hey Jeff."  
  
"Matt," Jeff said with a nod to his brother as he stared off into space.  
  
"We, uh, we need to talk," Matt said standing in front of Jeff and crossing his arms in front of him.  
  
"Matt, please just tell me she's alright," Jeff said quietly allowing his head to drop into his hands.  
  
"Let's just go inside and talk about this," Matt said walking past his brother into the house. Jeff slowly got up and followed him into the living room. "Jeff, you've really fucked up this time."  
  
"I know, Matt."  
  
"What the hell did you think you were doin by telling her?!"  
  
"I was afraid she'd get married without knowing that I loved her."  
  
"Jeff, she's not your girl! She's Shane's!"  
  
"I know!" Jeff yelled. "Jesus Matt! Do you think I don't know that I can't have her?!"  
  
"Well, do you fuckin realize that you have completely lost her because you just couldn't keep your feelings to yourself?!"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Jeff, she wants absolutely nothing to do with you now!"  
  
"But she loves me! I love her! How does.......I can't......FUCK!" Jeff screamed throwing of the two of us at the wall causing it to shatter.  
  
"Yeah, Jeff, it's over. She doesn't want any contact with you. She asked me to tell you."  
  
"Matt, I can't live without her in my life."  
  
"You should have thought of that before you told her all that you did."  
  
"Matt, you weren't there. You didn't see the look in her eyes or feel the passion of our kiss. Bro, she truly loves me. I could feel it during our kiss. And her eyes, well, you know how they change color. Well, they were this bright blue color that they turn when she's extremely happy. I know she can't stay away from me. She'll come back to me. Right into my arms.  
  
"No Jeff. Not this time. It's over. Forget it. She loves Shane."  
  
"NO! She fuckin loves me!" Jeff yelled getting in Matt's face.  
  
"If you don't back off me now, I'll throw you off me!" Matt yelled back. Jeff stayed rooted to his spot and stared him down. "Jeff, get the fuck off me now!" Jeff just shook his head, not losing eye contact with his older brother. Matt placed his hands roughly on Jeff's chest and pushed him off hard, causing him to fall on the floor. "Don't fuck with me."  
  
"Get out Matt! Get the fuck out!" Jeff yelled pointing to the door.  
  
"Fine Jeff. Just remember that I'm just the fuckin messenger. That she asked me to do this. So you can just fuck off Jeff. Become the miserable asshole that I know you'll become," Matt said through clenched teeth. He slammed the door shut behind him leaving Jeff to sit on the floor thinking about all that just happened.  
  
"I'm so sorry Casey. I love you baby, I truly do," Jeff said to himself as he picked up the picture he threw carefully. 


	2. The Best Thing

"Baby, are you sure you're alright?" Shane asked as we sat in a booth at Subway.  
  
"Yeah, everything is fine," I said softly as I looked out the window. He looked down at my barely touched meatball sub and sighed.  
  
"You've barely eaten. You love meatball subs," he said worriedly.  
  
"I'm just not very hungry right now," I said as I looked into his dark brown worried eyes. I gave him a smile and put my hand on top of his. "Everything's fine."  
  
He smiled back at me and took a bite of his loaded turkey sub. "Well, I have a very important question for ya."  
  
"Oh? What?" I asked leaning on the table.  
  
"Well, baby, I know you already have three great homes," he started off as I cleared my throat. He narrowed his eyebrows at me but shook it off. "Anyways, I was thinking that since we've been together for two years now, we could maybe move in together. You could come live with me. What do you say?"  
  
I looked down at the table, unsure of what to say. My heart was telling me to say no, that you need to be with Jeff. While my brain was telling me to go for it, that it would help me stay away from Jeff. I bit on my lip and nodded. I smiled at him and took his hand in mine tightly. "I would LOVE to! I think this is the best idea ever!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Are you fuckin playin with me?!" Shane asked shocked.  
  
I laughed at him and shook my head. "No, I'm not fuckin playin with you! I really think this is a great idea. In fact I think we should do it soon! The sooner the better!"  
  
"Then it's settled, the next time we're home, we'll move you into my house," Shane smiled.  
  
"No, I was thinking more like today," I said.  
  
"But it could take all day to pack up your stuff," he said.  
  
"So we take half this time and the other half next time we're home," I said.  
  
"Are you sure you wanna do that? Maybe you should take to Matt, Jeff, and Gil first."  
  
"I don't fuckin live with Jeff! So he has no fuckin say over anything," I yelled angrily.  
  
"Whoa chill Case. I just thought since you guys are practically attached at the hip, you might wanna talk to him about it first."  
  
"Yeah, well, things change," I muttered.  
  
"Did something happen last nite when you went to visit him?" he asked.  
  
"No, why would you say that?" I asked.  
  
"Cause you sound so pissed about the whole situation. Actually you just sound pissed towards Jeff."  
  
"Nothin happened. Don't worry about it. Everything is fine."  
  
"Yeah, you keep sayin that and the more you say it, the more I don't believe it."  
  
"Shane, let's just go get some of my shit packed," I said shaking my head. He nodded at me and we left the little Subway.  
  
"Wow, wait, you're movin in with Shane?!" Matt exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"I wish you had told me about this! Jesus!"  
  
"Matt, I'm telling you now. I gotta go help Shane pack my stuff up. He's at Dad's right now," I said as I hopped back on my dirt bike.  
  
"Wait, Case, is this cause of Jeff?"  
  
I looked at him and took off my helmet as I sighed. "Yeah, some what," I answered truthfully.  
  
"Casey, don't leave because of him. Please," Matt said as he walked towards me.  
  
"This is gonna help me stay away from him, so I think this is a good idea. It's not like you won't ever see me again," I said as I placed my helmet back on my head.  
  
"I know, but it won't be the same. What are you gonna do about holidays?"  
  
"Easy, spend them with Shane's family."  
  
"But what about your family?" Jeff asked as he walked out of Matt's house. I looked at him and started the bike up. I shook my head and sped down the dirt driveway. "I'm sorry Matt. I really didn't mean to fuck things up."  
  
"Whatever Jeff," Matt said waving his little brother off as he walked into the house.  
  
Jeff walked home and into the house only to be greeted by Shannon. Shannon smiled at him and Jeff gave him a dirt look. Jeff stormed up to his room, leaving Shannon to stand in the living room, confused. Shannon shuffled his feet as he walked towards the door, but then turned right around and walked up to Jeff's room. "Dude, what the hell is up your ass?" Shannon asked standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.  
  
"Long story," Jeff said looking out his window.  
  
"Well, I've got time," Shannon said sitting on the edge of Jeff's bed.  
  
Jeff sighed and sat next to his best friend. He proceeded to explain the whole nite to Shannon. By the time he had finished, Shannon was both shocked and a little mad. "Well, gonna say anything?" Jeff asked placing his head in his hands.  
  
"I don't know what to tell ya man. It seems to me that you really fucked up this time," Shannon said.  
  
"Why is everyone telling me that?!" Jeff yelled. "Like she didn't?!"  
  
"Jeff, you shouldn't have told her how you felt. You should have just let it go," Shannon said.  
  
"What the fuck is wrong with you people?! She fuckin said she loved me! That she was IN love with me! And yet she goes off with Shane! Am I the only one that finds something wrong with all this?!" Jeff yelled as he began pacing across his room.  
  
"Yeah, she's wrong. But Jeff, you could have told her when you first felt all this shit for her! Instead of fuckin waiting 2 years!" Shannon said.  
  
"I know!" Jeff screamed. "Jesus Shan, I don't know what to do. She wants nothing to do with me."  
  
"Do you really blame her? You practically tried to tear her and Shane apart!"  
  
"That wasn't my intentions! I just wanted her to know how I fuckin felt about her!"  
  
"I know, but did you honestly think she had no feelings for you?!"  
  
"Alright! So I knew deep in the back of my mind she must have felt something for me. But I didn't care! I just knew I had to tell her how I felt before her and Shane got married! And I definitely didn't want her to stay away from me. I never expected her to say, fuck Jeff. I can't be near him. I never thought that we wouldn't stay friends. Shannon, I seriously can't lose her. She's my sanity. Seriously, she's the only person that can keep me sane. I don't know what I'm gonna do without her."  
  
"Jeff, just calm down. I mean this could and probably will blow over in no time. She's never been able to stay away from ya."  
  
"Shannon this is different. I didn't hold any threat over their relationship. Now I do. I've lost her. I lost the one woman I loved with all my heart."  
  
"I'm sorry man. Really I am. Listen, I gotta go. But call me if ya need to talk. I'll see you tomorrow," Shannon said giving Jeff a brotherly hug.  
  
"Later Shan," Jeff said walking back to his window as Shannon left.  
  
"Well hello Casey. What can I do for you?" Vince asked as I walked into his office. He motioned for me to sit and I nodded.  
  
"I need to talk to you the storyline between Jeff and I," I said.  
  
"The fans are really loving you two together. It's great," Vince said excitedly. "I hope to keep you two together for quite sometime.  
  
"Actually, is it possible for us to end it? Jeff and I are no longer on speaking terms and I think it'd be a little difficult for me to be partners with him," I said sadly.  
  
"But next to HHH and Steph and Matt and Lita, you and Jeff are the hottest couple ever!" Vince said.  
  
"I know, but I seriously don't think I can handle it emotionally."  
  
"What happened between the two of you?" he asked curiously.  
  
"I'd rather just keep it my business if that's alright," I answered.  
  
"Hmm......Case, it's going to be really difficult getting this storyline cancelled," Vince said.  
  
"Please? I'll do anything else," I pleaded.  
  
"I'll see what I can do for next week. But you have to get to the arena now and get ready for the show tonite. Unfortunately, I can't change your match with Jeff. I'm sorry," Vince said as I stood.  
  
"That's alright. I'll take whatever you can do for me for next week. Thank you Vince."  
  
"No problem," he said with a sigh as I left.  
  
"Hey baby, what's up?" Matt Cappotelli said as I looked up at him from the water fountain. I wiped my mouth and rolled my eyes.  
  
"Okay, first off, dude, my name is not baby. Second, who the hell do you think you are?!" I exclaimed putting my hands on my hips.  
  
"Oh come on. You know who I am. I'm your dream man," he said giving off a cocky smile.  
  
"Oh puh-lease!" I laughed. "You are nothing more than a wannabe Chris Jericho. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to take care of." I started to walk off but he grabbed my arm tightly.  
  
"Why don't you and I go off to my locker room and have some fun?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.  
  
"Not on your life buddy!" I yelled trying to rip my arm out of his grasp.  
  
"Oh, you know you want a piece of Matt Cappotelli!" he said wrapping his arms around my waist.  
  
"Dude, get your hands off me!" I yelled.  
  
"Come on Angel," he said.  
  
"Get your damn hands off my girlfriend," Jeff's soulful voice said. I shut my eyes tightly and bit on my lower lip.  
  
"Hey man, she walked into my arms," Matt said letting me go. I looked up at him and slapped him hard.  
  
"Don't you dare treat me like one of your little dirty sluts like that nasty Mindy. Cause I'm not. Touch me again and I'll break your damn arm," I said storming off.  
  
"That's it! You two against me and Mindy! Tonite!!" Matt yelled after Jeff and I.  
  
Jeff and I stood in the middle of the ring waiting for our opponents. Mindy strutted down the ramp in a tiny black mini skirt and a red halter top. I laughed devilishly at her. I stared at her as she waved to the crowd. I ran up behind her and did a release German suplex, signaling the start of the match. Jeff and Matt got out of the ring and cheered us on. Mindy had no chance in hell and before she could even think of retaliating I had pinned her for the win. I stood up and rolled my eyes at her as Matt rushed to her side. Jeff and I walked back stage holding hands and smiling. But once we got behind the curtain I threw his hand down and stormed off in the opposite direction.  
  
"Come on Case! Just talk to me!" Jeff pleaded.  
  
"Fuck off!" I yelled as he ran after me. He crabbed my arm and pulled me around to face him. "Get your fuckin hands off me!"  
  
"Case, listen to me. We might as well be rather reasonable to each other cause we are gonna be a couple and tag team partners for quite sometime."  
  
"That's where you're wrong Jeff. I talked to Vince and he's working on changing the storyline," I replied.  
  
"What? You can't do that! He can't do that!" Jeff said flipping out.  
  
"I can and did," I said ripping myself away from him and walking off.  
  
"Goodbye Casey, you're the best thing I've ever lost!" Jeff said turning in the opposite direction. 


	3. Bracelet

I was walking down the hall of the hotel towards the gym. I was by myself, as usual. Ever since the whole thing with Jeff, I had become quite the loner. Shane offered to come with me, but I told him no and to stay in bed. I opened the doors to the hotel gym and sighed. The place was packed with fellow wrestlers. I just wanted to get on a tread mill, listen to my walkman, and workout by myself. But with all these people around, it wouldn't be happening this time.  
  
"Casey!" Victoria waved to me from one of the benches she sat on lifting weights. I waved back and nodded at her.  
  
"Hey kiddo. Ya wanna spot me?" Chris asked placing some weights on a metal bar.  
  
"Nah, not really. I'm just gonna go run on the tread mill," I answered walking by him.  
  
I stepped onto the tread mill and set if for the pace I wanted it at and began to run. I was in the middle of three, between Marc and Rob. They left for some weight machines and I was left to run in peace and quiet. I had been running for about 15 minutes when I had the sudden urge to look up at the door. When I did, Jeff walked in, wearing a white wife- beater and pair of netted shorts. His blonde hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and he carried a bottle of water in his hand.  
  
"Oh fuck. Maybe he won't come near me," I hoped as I looked down. I closed my eyes and continued to run when I heard the machine next to me start up. I took a deep breath and knew I didn't want to look next to me, but I did anyways. Jeff was running next to me, watching my every movement. "Shit." I shook my head at him and stopped the machine. I gathered my stuff and began to walk out.  
  
"Come on Case. It's been a month! Aren't you over this yet?" Jeff yelled after me causing everyone to stare at us.  
  
"Jeff, fuck off!" I yelled back as I walked out.  
  
"Hey, Case. What's goin on?" Andrew asked running up behind me.  
  
"I'd rather not talk about it," I replied as I continued walking.  
  
"Did you and Jeff get into a fight or something?" he asked.  
  
"Andrew, just leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it," I repeated as I sped up my walk. Andrew stopped and watched me walk away, shaking his head slowly.  
  
I walked into my hotel room and Shane was fast asleep. I smiled at him and crawled in next to him. He instinctively wrapped his arm around me tightly, pulling me close to his body.  
  
"That was a short workout," he whispered.  
  
"I got there, started running, and then just decided I didn't want to anymore."  
  
"Oh, I see. So Jeff walked in?" he assumed.  
  
"Yeah, he did."  
  
"What did he do that was so bad baby?"  
  
"He loved me," I muttered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"He just pissed me off. Don't worry about it," I said turning over in his arms. I faced him and kissed his lips tenderly. "Why don't we go shopping or something? To get out of this room."  
  
"Nah, why don't you go ask Trish? I bet she'd love to go with you," Shane suggested.  
  
"Fuck that," I said getting up.  
  
"Not liking Trish now?" he asked propping himself up on his elbows.  
  
"I'm gonna go see with Amy and Matt are doin," I said as I walked out the door.  
  
"Hey Case," Matt said hugging me tightly. I looked around the room and smiled as he led me to the bed. "No, the asshole's not here."  
  
"Why do you hate him? Matt, you have no reason to," I said.  
  
"He fucked with your emotions. No one messes with my baby sister," he smiled.  
  
"He was your baby brother before I ever thought of bein your sister," I said.  
  
"Let's not talk about him, okay?" I nodded and laid down on the bed.  
  
"Where's Ames? I thought maybe we could go shopping or something," I said.  
  
"She's at the hotel restaurant with Trish. Why don't you go talk to them about it?"  
  
"Trish and I aren't on speaking terms," I said softly.  
  
"I noticed that you two have been keeping your space. What's up with that?"  
  
"She thinks I'm bein a bitch about this whole Jeff thing," I answered.  
  
"Looks like we've got sides goin here, huh?"  
  
"Looks that way."  
  
"I'm on your side the whole way."  
  
"Well, I guess she's on his. Whatever, ya know? I just don't care," I replied.  
  
"Hey Matt. Trish and I are goin shopping," Amy said as she slowly walked into the room. "Oh, hey Case."  
  
"Hi Amy," I replied as Trish walked in after her.  
  
"Oh, hey, Matt," Trish said. Matt nodded angrily at her and put his hand on my knee.  
  
"Ya wanna come with us Case?" Amy asked.  
  
"No," I said roughly. I glared at Trish as she gave me a dirty look.  
  
"Ooookay," Amy said slowly as she turned to Trish. "Well, let's go."  
  
"Matt, I think I'm gonna talk to Vince about getting switched to Smackdown," I said with a sigh.  
  
"WHAT?! No, Case, you can't. Think about Shane, think about Amy, think about me! I don't want you to switch. Please stay here," Matt said wrapping his arms around me tightly.  
  
"But how can I be here with both Jeff and Trish hating me?" I asked tearfully.  
  
"Fuck them! We need you here!" Matt said.  
  
"I just don't know how long I can deal with them," I said.  
  
"I know, listen, we'll get through this together."  
  
"I really don't wanna tear you Jeff up. You two were so close until this shit happened. Please, just be with him. Apologize for whatever and get over it. I don't want you two to hate each other because of me!"  
  
*************************  
  
"Seriously Jeff, I can't believe she's bein such a bitch," Trish said as she walked next to him into the gym.  
  
"I don't think she is. It's all me. I know I'm causing her pain, but I'm causing myself pain too. Vince threatened to not resign me when the time comes. I've been late to every single show."  
  
"Then stop bein late and get your ass in gear."  
  
"Even my performance in the ring is suffering because of all this."  
  
"Jeff, get over her. There are better girls out there. She doesn't deserve to have a great guy like you in her life if she's gonna act this way."  
  
"It's hard for me to get over her cause she's the one I always pictured myself with. I really love her Trish. I have a Christmas present for her," he said softly.  
  
"Why? Jeff, just forget about her."  
  
"I'm gonna send it to her. If she keeps it, I'll know she truly does love me. If I get it back, then I'll try my hardest to forget about her."  
  
***************************  
  
"Merry Christmas baby," Shane whispered leaning over me and kissing me softly. I took a deep breath and looked into his deep brown eyes smiling dreamily.  
  
"Merry Christmas," I replied into his mouth. He smiled at me and held me tightly.  
  
'Yeah, this is where I belong. Right in Shane's arms. Just like this. Could life get any better?' I thought as I snuggled into his body. We continued to lay there with each other till the doorbell sounded through out the house. Shane sighed and pulled on his boxers and a pair of pants. I watched him walk out of the room scratching his head and couldn't help but chuckle. I leaned against headboard and waited for his return. I looked around the room and felt very content in my new home. I had completely moved out of Matt and Dad's house and into Shane's.  
  
"Baby, did you know they did fed ex on Christmas?" Shane asked setting a package down on my lap.  
  
"I do now," I smiled.  
  
"It's from Jeff," Shane frowned as I rolled my eyes at the package. I opened it slowly and sighed. "Is it a Christmas present?"  
  
"Looks that way. I can't believe this. Why would he get me something?" I questioned as I unwrapped the gift that was wrapped in a silver paper.  
  
"I don't know honey. Maybe he's tryin to make amends for whatever he did," Shane replied as he walked into the bathroom.  
  
"A CD. Damnit Jeff, this is how this whole fuckin mess started," I muttered to myself. I slipped it into my walkman and hit play as I slipped the headphones over my ears. I knew immediately that I was gonna have a hard time listening to the cd with Shane around. It was gonna make me cry and I knew it right from the first beat of the first song, "Angel" by Aerosmith. I hit the stop button just as Shane walked out.  
  
"So, what's on it?" Shane asked as I blinked back my tears.  
  
"Don't know. I don't really wanna listen to it right now. Maybe later," I smiled as I put the walkman on the nitestand next to me.  
  
"Well, then since we have to be at my parents' house at 3, we might as well get up and get to our own gift giving," he smiled as he pulled out of the bed. I held onto his arm tightly as we walked down into the living room. I sat on the couch and curled my legs underneath me as he handed me a gift.  
  
"AHHH!!! Oh my fuckin word!!! I love you so damn much right now!!! I can't believe you got me this!!!! You are the best boyfriend ever!!!!" I exclaimed as I threw the gift down next to me. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and attacked him with kisses.  
  
"Whoa, I didn't know you'd love it so much!" he laughed as he set me back on the couch.  
  
"Can we listen to one of them right now?" I asked with an excited grin on my face.  
  
"Sure, which one?" he asked as he walked over to his stereo.  
  
"Doesn't matter, any of them is fine," I smiled as I heard the wonderful sounds of Disney music come from the stereo. "Thank you so much! I missed my tapes. I had to leave them back at Maine."  
  
"I know. That's why got em for ya. I know how much you love your Disney stuff," he said as he sat next to me.  
  
"Now all I need is the movies to go with the cd set," I laughed as I handed Shane a present. He opened it and smiled at me as he placed it over the both of us. I frowned at the Redskins fleece I had gotten him. "One of these days we will be goin to a football game to see your precious little team lose!"  
  
"Oh in your dreams!" he laughed nudging my shoulder with his. "This one's from Matt and Amy."  
  
I smiled as I opened the gift to reveal the new Spyro playstation 2 game. "Tonite, we play the game!" I handed him another gift. It was the second video in the Lord of the Rings series.  
  
"Thank you baby!" he said ecstatically. "Tonite we'll be havin a Lord of the Rings marathon. Only without the third movie, obviously!"  
  
"Oh gees......can't wait," I laughed sarcastically as Shane slid a huge box over to me. "What the hell is this?!"  
  
"Just open it!" he said excitedly. I gave him a side ways skeptical glance and went at the box. Inside owned every single Disney movie that I could ever want. My eyes grew wide as my jaw dropped to the floor.  
  
"Shane! Oh my God! This is totally awesome!" I said joyously.  
  
"I got whatever I could in DVD and the rest had to be in Video. But I think pretty much all of them are there. The Lion King included," he smiled. I jumped into his arms and held onto him tightly as tears of happiness fell down my cheeks. I pulled back and kissed his lips passionately. His tongue massaged mine as he moaned into my mouth. When we broke apart, I smiled at him and let out a sigh.  
  
"Is Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in there?" I asked biting on my lower lip.  
  
"Yeah, they are," he said letting out a quiet chuckle.  
  
"I'm sorry. I must sound like a little kid," I said shaking my head at myself.  
  
"No, not at all. You just have that innocence about you. That's one of the many things I love about you. But do you seriously like em?"  
  
"They're great. I really love em! I can't wait to watch em all," I laughed as I lifted through the pile of movies in the box. "Do we really have to go to dinner at your parents' place?"  
  
"Yeah, why?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I thought maybe we could try out your gift here," I giggled as I handed him a box.  
  
"Why? What's in it?" he asked.  
  
"Open it and find out," I smiled as I watched him open the gift cautiously.  
  
"Whoa," he said as he stared into the box full of various sex objects. "You are the best girlfriend ever!"  
  
"I know, I try," I laughed as he took out each thing to examine it. There were glow in the dark sex dice, flavored condoms, regular condoms, massage oil, and other things that would make for an interesting nite.  
  
"Tonite, baby. Definitely tonite," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.  
  
"Well, let's get ready to go," I said with a pout as I pulled him up the stairs with me.  
  
*********************************  
  
"Hey, Jeff, Merry Christmas bro," Matt said walking into his father's house. Amy smiled at the two of them as they embraced in a hug. "I'm sorry. You must think I'm an asshole right now."  
  
"Nope, I always knew you were," Jeff joked as they all walked into the living room. "Do either of you know if Casey got my gift or not?"  
  
"No, you got her something?" Amy asked.  
  
"Yeah, well, I mixed a cd for her. But I don't know if she got it," Jeff sighed.  
  
"Well, uh, here," Matt said handing him a small box.  
  
"What's this? Is it from you guys?" he asked curiously as they shook their heads.  
  
"No, it's from Casey. It was sitting on our dresser after she moved out with direction for us to give it to you today," Matt explained.  
  
"She got me something? See! She does love me!" Jeff said excitedly as he ripped apart the box. Inside was a multi-colored stringed friendship bracelet. Under it was a note on rainbow paper.  
  
'Dear Jeff, Oh God! I don't know how to express this. Of course I love you man. Ya know you've always been there for me. Any time I was down, you were there to pick me up again. I guess a confession of love couldn't keep our friendship together, huh? We've been able to withstand any other trials and tribulations, but not that. I just wanted to make you this bracelet. So that you know that I'll always love you, even though I'm not with you. I just wish things could have been different. I love you Jeff. I love you so much. Love always, Casey'  
  
Jeff smiled and tied the bracelet around his wrist. Matt gave him a pat on the back as he walked towards the tree. 


	4. Why Don't You and I

A/N: I'm so sorry that I've been taking so long to update. It's just that this problem I've got is getting me really down. See, my problem is that I have this friend who's like my sister, Jessy. Her fiancé Jesse, has this friend, Matt. Well, I like Matt. And I mean, LIKE him. He's all I see now. It's really bad. Well anyways, I told Jessy back in August that I like him. She didn't care. She like ignored it, I guess. So I just pushed back everything I felt for him for the simple fact that he lives two hours from my school and I wouldn't ever see him unless I'm with the Jesses. Well, 2 weeks ago, I found out that he likes my other friend, Kristen. So Jessy decided it to make it her goal to hook the two of them up. So, he comes down last weekend and it's me, him, Jessy, and Kristen all weekend. It got so bad at one point that I was in tears in Jessy's room. But no one noticed. I went back to my room early and just cried like the rest of the nite. Then Kristen asks me what was wrong and I try to convince her that it wasn't her fault. Cause I wasn't about to tell her what the prob was cause I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. So later that week, he just IMs me. I had no freakin clue he had my sn, but he did. So we're talking and he's telling me things he doesn't even tell Kristen. Then he asks me the big question, what was bothering me last weekend. So, after a long time of stalling, I finally tell him. And after I did, I felt SO much better. But the thing is, he only likes Kristen. Then I tell Kristen and I know she feels uncomfortable and I just feel horrible cause I know they're together. And then the other bad thing is that Jessy STILL hasn't asked what was wrong. Which is probably a good thing cause I'd probably bitch her out. And I don't wanna cause anymore problems than I probably already have. And I know I can't survive without Jessy. Cause I'm already like an outcast and I've only got a few close friends. I sometimes I hate my life. I really do. I just want something good to happen to me for a change. UGH! Well, anyways, this must be like the longest A/N. On with the chapter! Oh! The song in this chapter is by Santana and Chad Kroeger called "Why Don't You and I." It also happens to be mine, Jessy, and Kristen's song. Go figure right?! lol  
  
*********************  
  
Once we got back from Shane's parents' house, he went right to bed to take a nap. He was exhausted and completely full. So while he slept I grabbed the boom box and Jeff's cd, and walked into the bathroom to take a nice, warm, relaxing, bath. I let the bubbles float up under my chin before I switched on the cd. I took a deep breath, listening to the words of the music. All of the songs on the cd had something to do with Angels, Heaven, or something like that. There was one song that stood out in my mind and made me cry the hardest. It was a song we had discovered on a trip the two of us made to the mall one boring afternoon.  
  
'Since the moment I spotted you  
  
Like walking round with little wings on my shoes  
  
My stomach's filled with the butterflies.....................and it's alright  
  
Bouncing round from cloud to cloud  
  
I got the feeling like I'm never going to come down  
  
If I said I didn't like it then you know I'd lied'  
  
I remembered that day instantly. We must have heard that song six times. By the third, we knew it by heart and were rocking back and forth singing it together. I closed my eyes and pictured us together. I laughed through my tears as I saw him and I put our faces together and belt out the chorus.  
  
'Every time I try to talk to you  
  
I get tongue-tied  
  
Seems like everything I say to you  
  
Comes out wrong and never comes out right  
  
So I'll say why don't you and I get together and take on the world  
  
and be together forever  
  
Heads we will and tails we'll try again  
  
So I say why don't you and I hold each other and fly to the moon  
  
and straight on to heaven  
  
Cause without you they're never going to let me in'  
  
I couldn't believe he had down this. I had cried once again because of him. How come someone who always knew how to make me smile could make me feel so horrible? But I suppose some of it was my fault right?  
  
"Case?" I heard Shane's groggy voice faintly as I slipped back into the here and now.  
  
"Yeah?" I asked wiping my cheeks frantically.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked as I heard the door creek open.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I replied as he walked into the bathroom.  
  
"I just thought I heard you cryin," he smiled as he knelt down to the tub. He leaned over and kissed my lips tenderly. "I love you."  
  
"Love you too," I replied with a smile. "You all rested up?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Don't wanna sleep too much. We have a Lord of the Rings marathon," he said excitedly.  
  
"Do you think that we could maybe put that on hold?" I asked as he grabbed a towel for me.  
  
"Why? Is something botherin you?" he asked curiously as he wrapped the towel around my body. I tucked a chunk of hair behind my ear and sighed.  
  
"No, I'm just tired," I said.  
  
"Oh, um, okay. Sure, whatever you want sweetie," he said wrapping his arms around my wet body tightly. I rested my head on his shoulder as he rubbed my back and I sobbed silently. "OH! Did you listen to the cd Jeff made for you?"  
  
"Um, not really, no. I was goin to but there was better stuff on the radio," I smiled as we walked into the bedroom. I pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Shane and I didn't stay up much longer. I curled my body into his and fell into a deep sleep.  
  
Shane carefully got up and walked into the bathroom so not to wake me. He shut the door and turned the cd that Jeff gave me on. He sat on the cold tile floor and listened closely. His mouth grew into an angry scowl as he continued to listen to each heartfelt song. He stood up to his feet angrily and pulled the cd out of the radio roughly. He threw it in the bathroom garbage pale and went back into the bedroom.  
  
"I'm not going to let him take you away from me. I love you too much. He's not going to get you," he whispered as he brushed hair off my face. "I don't care what I have to do to keep you. I'm not going to let you go without a fight." He kissed my face lightly before settling down into the bed and holding me tightly.  
  
*******  
  
"You wanted to see me Shane?" Mindy asked in her bubbly voice. Shane turned around and smiled at her. She licked her lips and smiled at him seductively. "Well, where do you wanna do this? In your locker room or back at the hotel?"  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Shane asked.  
  
"You didn't want sex?" she asked sounding very confused.  
  
"Hell no!" Shane exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, then what'd you want me for?" she asked.  
  
"I need you to do something for me. I need you to seduce Jeff Hardy," Shane replied.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I want you to get Jeff to go after you. You see, he has a thing for my girlfriend and I want to get rid of that threat. So, will you do it?" Shane asked.  
  
"When and where?" she asked.  
  
"At the arena and within the next few weeks," Shane answered. She nodded slowly and walked away, leaving Shane standing there smiling.  
  
***********  
  
I yawned tiredly as I sat in the Diva's locker room. I had just finished a match against Rob for the hardcore title and lost. There was just one more big thing to the Royal Rumble. I had to stay around for that so I could try my luck at getting a shot at the championship during Wrestlemania. I leaned my head against the cold cement wall and sighed as Trish stormed into the locker room.  
  
"Do you know what you've done to Jeff?!" she yelled at me.  
  
"What are you talking bout?" I asked as I looked up at her.  
  
"He's in so much trouble right now! He was late for the show because he still can't get you out of his mind! Get over it Case!" Trish yelled.  
  
"Fuck off Trish," I spat back. She stumbled backwards a bit with a stunned look on her face. "You don't understand anything about any of this so step off!"  
  
"Whatever Case. Whatever," she said shaking her head angrily at me. I stood up and walked out the door towards the curtain. I sighed as I got ready to run out there to try my luck at the rumble. I quickly ran down the ramp and slid into the ring. I began to fight with Test as more people began to fill the ring. I wasn't in long before Jeff and Test double teamed me and threw me over, eliminating me from the rumble. I glared up at Jeff as I saw the friendship bracelet I had made around his right wrist. A small smile formed on my face as I nodded up at him. He looked down at me with sadness in his eyes as I walked away.  
  
"Thank you," I said as I peeked into the guy's locker room.  
  
"For what?" Matt asked as he opened the door, letting me in.  
  
"For giving him the bracelet," I answered as Shane walked up behind me.  
  
"Bracelet? Who got a bracelet?" Shane asked kissing my cheek.  
  
"No one," I replied as I walked back to the Diva's locker room.  
  
I quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top, not talking to any of the girls in the room, and walked out into the hall. I pulled myself onto one of the equipment cases and searched through my cd case for the cd Jeff had made for me. I must have gone through it 20 times before came to the realization that it wasn't in there. I bit on my lower lip and thought of where I had last seen it. The only time I had listened to it was when I took my bath Christmas nite.  
  
"What the fuck?" I said out loud as Jay started to pass me. He turned around and smiled at me.  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked.  
  
"I'm missing a cd," I answered with a confused look upon my face.  
  
"Did you let Jeff borrow it?" he asked.  
  
"HELL NO!" I yelled.  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot you two aren't on speaking terms anymore. Where did you last see it?"  
  
"At home. But I only listened to it once. And since then I haven't seen it," I frowned as Jeff walked by us. He looked up at me and shook his head. I watched him walk by and sighed.  
  
"Kid, you love him. Go get him," Jay said softly.  
  
"No," I said quietly as I lowered my head. Jay put his hands on my legs and smiled at me.  
  
"You'll figure things out. It'll all of a sudden just hit you. And when it does you'll know exactly what you're meant to do. Love ya kid," he said as he kissed my nose before walking towards the locker room.  
  
"Hey Darlin!" Dad exclaimed as he walked towards me. A bright smile instantly formed on my face. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me off the case, hugging me at the same time. "I missed you hun."  
  
"Missed you too," I replied as I strained my neck to look up at him.  
  
"You did very well tonite," he complimented.  
  
"Thanks, but there were tons of things I should have done differently. I just haven't been at my best lately," I said.  
  
"You're always at your best. You could never do bad, sweetie."  
  
"Thanks. So how's Sara and K?" I asked.  
  
"Great. They're great. I have some pictures for you in my bag. Why don't we go get em now?" he suggested as I linked my arm with his. I smiled as we walked down the hall. I walked in and was instantly greeted by half the smackdown roaster. While I said my hellos Mark grabbed the pictures for me.  
  
"How are you doin kiddo?" Adam asked as he pulled me off to the side away from the other guys.  
  
"I could be better. I don't know, I'm still so very confused."  
  
"It'll get better. I'm sure of it," he smiled at me. "Did I tell you about Alannah?"  
  
"No. What's up?"  
  
"She pregnant! We're gonna have a baby!" Adam said excitedly as I wrapped my arms around his neck excitedly.  
  
"That's so awesome! When'd you find out?" I asked curiously.  
  
"Last month. Around Christmas. I was gonna call you, but we kinda wanted to keep it to ourselves for awhile. But how much does this reek of awesomeness?!" he laughed.  
  
"Oh it reeks so totally much!" I replied with a laugh of my own.  
  
"Here ya go," Dad said handing me an envelop. I smiled before reaching up to kiss his cheek.  
  
"I'd better go. Shane's probably ready to leave. I'll see you all soon," I announced as I waved goodbye to everyone. I gave Adam one last happy smile and left.  
  
*********  
  
"Shane, have you seen the cd that Jeff gave to me?" I asked as I searched through my duffle bag. He sat up on the bed and swallowed hard.  
  
"No, did you leave it at home?" he asked.  
  
"No, the last time I saw it was Christmas," I replied as I put my hands on my hips. He walked up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist. I put my hands on top of his as he placed kisses along the base of my neck. "Mmmm........"  
  
"I'm sure it'll turn up," he whispered between kisses.  
  
"Uh-huh," I replied breathlessly. He took my earlobe into his mouth and carefully sucked on it, causing me to out a moan. I turned around slowly and wrapped my arms around his neck. He lifted me up into his arms and I wrapped my legs around his waist tightly. I roughly placed my lips on his as he carried me to the bed. He laid me down gently without breaking the kiss as he started to undo my jeans. He smiled down at me as I pulled my shirt over my head quickly as he did the same to with his own. I unbuckled his jeans as he proceeded to slip them down around his ankles.  
  
"Shane? Case?" Shane stopped instantly as we heard Amy's voice. I let out an aggravated sigh as I looked up at him.  
  
"Shhh......maybe she'll go away if we don't respond," Shane whispered.  
  
"I know you're in there! Casey! Get off him and answer the door!" Amy yelled. My mouth opened wide as I started to yell out obscenities to her, but Shane covered my mouth with his hand.  
  
"Just a second Amy!" Shane called as he stood up straight, pulling his pants up with him. He frowned at me as I started pulling my clothes back on. I nodded at him as he opened the door, allowing Amy to run in.  
  
"Well, it's about damn time! Anyways, Case, I need to talk to you," she exclaimed pulling me back out the door. Shane raised an eyebrow and watched as she pulled me down the hall into hers and Matt's room.  
  
"Gees Ames, I'd like to keep my damn arm, thank you very much," I said as she let me go. I rubbed my shoulder as I sat down on the edge of the bed. "What'd you want?"  
  
"I heard a rumor about Mindy today," she said quietly.  
  
"So?"  
  
"A rumor that she wants Jeff," Amy said.  
  
"What?" I said shocked.  
  
"Yeah, she wants Jeff, in a bad way," Amy replied.  
  
"Damn slut!" I yelled.  
  
"What are you gonna do? You're not his girlfriend."  
  
" I know that! I don't know what to do, I mean I can't really do anything. He's not mine. He's free to do what he wants. But still, Mindy?!" I exclaimed.  
  
"I know. Personally I think you should do something about all this," Amy said slyly.  
  
"What are you talking bout?"  
  
"Casey, we all know you want him. Just do it. Go for it before she does."  
  
"No Amy. You know that I can't do that. Jesus!" I said angrily as I stood I crossed my arms and began pacing around the room.  
  
"Casey, he loves you. He wears that bracelet you made him all the time."  
  
"I know. I saw it on his wrist tonite during the rumble."  
  
"Did you listen to the cd he made you?"  
  
"Yeah, I did, once. I was crying. It was so bad. But I went to listen to it tonite while I was waiting for Shane and I can't find it. It's gone. Shane says he doesn't know what happened to it either," I said as I settled back onto the bed.  
  
"You don't think Shane might be lying and might have taken it, do you?"  
  
"No! He wouldn't do that!"  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah........I think so," I answered a bit unsure of myself. "Do you think you could ask Jeff to make me a new one?"  
  
"Ask him yourself."  
  
"I can't do that! You know that!"  
  
"Yeah, but you can't blame a girl for tryin," she laughed.  
  
"So will you do it?"  
  
"Of course. It's as good as done!" she smiled. 


	5. Sex Confessions

It wasn't long after I had asked Amy to ask Jeff for another cd, when I got one. It was constantly being played on my walkman for my ears only. There had been no news on the Mindy front, but I knew something was going to happen soon. I missed Jeff so much. He had been there since the first day and now he wasn't. My love for him hadn't diminished any, but my love for Shane was slowly doing so.  
  
"Win big--Mama's fallen angel..........Lose big--livin' out her lies.....Wants it all--Mama's fallen angel.......Lose it all, rollin' the dice of her life," I sang out loud to the cd as I walked into the Diva's locker room. I set my stuff down and smiled at Amy as she nodded at me. I lowered my head phones around my neck and sat down with an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Jeff's cd again?" Amy asked.  
  
"Yeah, do I listen to anything else lately?" I chuckled.  
  
"No, you don't," she laughed as she pulled a white netted midriff top over her head.  
  
"I think I'm gonna tell him......tell him that I love him and want no one else but him," I smiled as her mouth dropped in an excited way. I laughed at the goofy look on her face as she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.  
  
"I'm so happy! It's about damn time girl. Well, Shane's in a good mood, so I'm guessing he doesn't know?" she questioned.  
  
"Nope, haven't talked him about it yet. I wanna tell Jeff first. This way if he wants nothing to do with me I still have Shane in my life. If he does, then I can tell Shane later," I explained as Trish walked out of the shower area.  
  
"Did I just hear you say that you're gonna make up with Jeff?" she asked in a friendly tone.  
  
"What's it to ya?" I asked crossing my arms angrily.  
  
"I know I haven't been the most supportive friend towards you these past few months but Jeff has been in my life a hell of a lot longer and we have certain ties to each other. I still love ya Case. I mean I don't agree with everything that has happened, but I do love you. And I'm apologize for acting the way I have," Trish apologized.  
  
"That's okay. I guess I understand why you did and said everything you did. And to answer your question, yes, I am. Eventually. I don't know when yet and I don't know what I'm gonna say yet, but I will do it soon," I smiled happily to myself.  
  
**********  
  
I stood in the bedroom staring at the locker Shane had given me on our first Valentine's Day together. Ever since the happenings with Jeff I had tucked it far away. My philosophy was out of sight, out of mind. And until recently it was working well for me. My relationship with Shane had changed a lot since I have moved in with him. I had never realized how lazy he was until then. In the beginning of our relationship, I admit, it was mostly based on sex. But now we hardly did that. All he ever wanted to do was cuddle on the couch and watch a movie or play a video game. Which was all well and good, but I needed that intimacy as well. As I looked at Jeff's picture in the locket, tears formed in my eyes. I wiped them away and put the locket around my neck as I finished packing for the show in Charlotte that nite.  
  
"Case! Ya ready?!" Shane yelled upstairs.  
  
"Yeah! Coming!" I yelled back as I shut my suitcase. I looked down at the locket and smiled as I said to myself, "Tonite Jeff, it's our nite!"  
  
*********  
  
I smiled as I skipped down the hall of the arena. I was on a man hunt and that man was the one I loved, Jeff Hardy. My speech ran through my head millions of times as I looked for him. I suddenly saw his dark purple and dark blue colored hair and stopped. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to speak when I realized someone was with him. I moved to the side in time to see Mindy plant her dark red lips on his soft pink colored lips.  
  
"No," I cried softly as tears streamed down my cheeks. I stood there staring at them as they shared a passionate, never ending kiss. "Jeff, no. You can't do this. I love you!"  
  
"Casey?" Matt said behind me. He put his hand on my shoulder gently before moving around to stand next to me. "What's the matter?"  
  
"I love him Matt. I love him so much," I cried as he pulled me into his body. I rested my head on his chest as I continued to watch Mindy assault Jeff's tongue with hers. "I was going to tell him. I was going to tell him that I wanted him. I was going to tell him everything!"  
  
"Oh shit Case. Come on. Let's go," he said as he pulled me away with him. We had disappeared down the hall and away from the couple.  
  
"What the fuck Mindy!" Jeff yelled as he roughly pushed her off him.  
  
"What's the matter Jeff?" she asked.  
  
"You don't just fuckin kiss me like that!" he yelled.  
  
"Why not? Jeff, I like you and I know you like me," she said confidently.  
  
"No, I don't mind. I'm already in love and the girl I love IS NOT you!" he exclaimed before walking off.  
  
"Damn it!" she exclaimed in a huff before walking away by herself.  
  
"You were going to tell him?" Matt asked as we sat in an empty locker room. I nodded as I wiped my cheeks with a tissue.  
  
"Yeah. I was goin to tell him that I needed to be with him. That I was going to break up with Shane. I didn't think he'd actually take Mindy," I cried.  
  
"I'm sorry. I had no clue about it. You know that if I had I would have told you about it," he said holding me tightly.  
  
"I know, there was nothing you could do about it. I heard the rumors from Amy that she was gonna go for him. But I was hoping that he would refuse her!" I sobbed.  
  
"He still loves you Case. He's probably just realized that he will never have you."  
  
"But Matt, he can have me. I'm willing and ready to give myself to him."  
  
"I know Kiddo. In time maybe," he said as he rubbed my back slowly and soothingly.  
  
I sat on the bench in the Diva's locker room. I didn't have a match that nite, but I needed to be there in case they all of a sudden needed me for something, which never happens. I looked up as Amy tiredly trudged into the locker room holding the Women's Championship belt over her shoulder.  
  
"Matt told me about Jeff and Mindy," she said as she sipped some water. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I will be. I mean I broke his heart. Why should he be allowed to break mine?" I said sadly.  
  
"No one deserves to have their heart broken," she said wisely.  
  
"For everything that I've put him through, I do," I said as tears slowly dripped down my face.  
  
"Casey, trust me, NO ONE deserves it. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy," she said shaking her head. "Well, I'm gonna jump in the shower. I'll talk to you later?"  
  
"Yeah, later," I replied softly.  
  
*******  
  
"Jeff, Casey saw you," Matt whispered to his younger brother as they walked down the hall.  
  
"Saw me doing what?" Jeff asked.  
  
"Saw you kissing Mindy," Matt replied.  
  
"Oh shit!" Jeff exclaimed causing everyone to stop and look at him.  
  
"Yeah," Matt muttered.  
  
"Matt, that kiss meant nothing. She just jumped on me. I pushed her away. Really I did. I don't want Mindy. Hell, I loathe the girl," Jeff said as he and Matt stopped in front of the exit to the arena.  
  
"Really? Jeff, she was so upset," Matt confessed.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I can't tell you why. Just trust me that she was," Matt said before leaving the building.  
  
Jeff sighed and shouldered his bag. "Why would she be upset? Unless....." Jeff smiled as the thought sunk into his brain.  
  
********  
  
"This isn't gonna be like that last time we had a girl's nite is it?" I asked as I followed Trish into her lavish home, hands full with paper bags holding the food we'd need for the nite.  
  
"Nope, hopefully anyways. I'd really like to remember this one!" she laughed as I sat the bags on the counter. She looked at me and smiled before wrapping me up in a hug.  
  
"What was that for?" I asked hugging her back.  
  
"I just missed you," she said as we pulled apart. I smiled at her as I began to take the food out of the bags.  
  
About an hour later Amy and Nora had showed up and we were all seated in Trish's hot tub, drinking Smirnoff. I set my bottle down and moved my dark blue bikini top around, straightening it out. I laid my head back and looked up at the nite sky with a sigh.  
  
"Did you really see Mindy kissing Jeff in the hall?" Nora asked cautiously causing me to lift my head and look at her.  
  
I nodded and said, "Yeah, broke my heart. I was gonna get him back in my life. But I guess I'm not now."  
  
"Let's not talk about Jeff," Amy suggested with a smile.  
  
"Let's talk about sex," Nora blurted out. We looked at her shocked as she smiled innocently at us.  
  
"Why?" I asked slowly.  
  
"Cause I just have some news that I want to share with you girls," she said continuing to smile. I looked from Trish, to Amy, and back at Nora before I smiled.  
  
"So, spill!" Amy said as she sipped her Smirnoff.  
  
"Chris and I slept together last week!" Nora said triumphantly.  
  
"You did NOT!" Trish said.  
  
"Oh I so did!" Nora replied with a laugh.  
  
"Well, how was it for your first time? Was it everything you expected?" Amy asked.  
  
"Yes and no. I mean he was nice and gentle, but it hurt like hell! Was it supposed to?" Nora asked nervously.  
  
I let out a chuckle as I answered her question, "Honey, for your first time, yes. It get's easier the more you do it."  
  
"Oh good. I was worried for a second," she said releasing a sigh of relief.  
  
"You have nothing to worry about. So, did you like it?" Trish asked curiously.  
  
"Well, I expected to um........well, he......" Nora trailed off nervously.  
  
"He came and you didn't as much?" Amy said for her.  
  
"Yeah. Is that normal?"  
  
"Okay, one thing you gotta know, not all women get off without some kind of.......well......did he rub you or anything like that?" Trish said sounding almost embarrassed.  
  
"Yeah......."Nora answered turning a bright shade of red.  
  
"Well, did you get off from that?" Amy asked.  
  
"Oh yeah," Nora said happily.  
  
"There ya go. You need that in order to get off. Just straight on sex isn't gonna cut it for ya honey," Trish said.  
  
"Is that normal?"  
  
"Oh yeah. Most girls need that kind of stimulus. Don't worry about it," I said.  
  
"What about you three? Is it like that for you?" Nora asked.  
  
"I love the straight on sex, really I do, but it doesn't do much for me," Trish confessed.  
  
"Matt gives me everything I need when I need it. Enough said," Amy said proudly.  
  
"Case?" Nora said.  
  
"Depends on the mood. I love both and get off from both. But if I just need something, he just gives me head. But either way, Shane knows exactly how to please me!" I laughed.  
  
"I'm sure!" Nora laughed.  
  
"Where's the craziest place anybody has had sex?" Amy asked.  
  
"Tim and I had sex in a changing room once. What about you Ames?" Trish answered.  
  
"Matt and I had sex on Jeff's bed," she answered shyly.  
  
"OH GROSS!" I yelled. "I've slept on that bed! YUCK!"  
  
"That's not all that crazy," Trish pointed out.  
  
"I know, just wanted to see if Case would get freaked out," she laughed. "I guess I'd have to say having sex in the backseat of the car while at a drive in kiddie movie. How bout you and Shane?"  
  
"Towards the beginning of our relationship we had a quickie in a hotel elevator. We also had sex in his car in his brother's driveway before the Halloween party. Ummm........a restaurant bathroom," I answered.  
  
"Okay, we get the picture," Amy laughed.  
  
"What about kinky sex? Anyone done any of that stuff?" Trish asked.  
  
"No, not at all," Amy said sounding a bit disgusted.  
  
"Nope, not my thing. The only thing we ever do is use glow in the dark sex dice," I answered.  
  
"Yeah, not my thing either," Trish agreed.  
  
"What are sex dice?" Nora asked.  
  
"They have different commands on the sides and you roll to see what you have to do," I explained.  
  
"Matt and I should get some of those," Amy said with a wink.  
  
"Phone sex?" Trish asked.  
  
"Once," I said shyly.  
  
"Are you serious?!" Amy exclaimed.  
  
"It was while my wrist was broken," I said.  
  
"Shannon told me that Shane was acting really weird during one call from you. He went in the bathroom and locked himself in there. Then when he came out he looked all worn out!" Amy laughed.  
  
"Yeah, that would be cause of the phone sex," I laughed. "What about you and Matt?"  
  
"Nope, not ever!" she said confidently.  
  
"Amy," I said tilting my head to the side and crossing my arms.  
  
"Okay, maybe a few times," she confessed.  
  
"I KNEW IT!" Trish laughed. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with phone sex. Of course now I know that when Tim and I did it he was actually having sex with another girl, but whatever."  
  
"So, did Chris ask for a blow job?" Amy asked.  
  
"Yeah, but I told him no cause well, I don't know what the hell I'm doing and if I'm doing it right," Nora answered.  
  
"Every guy is different. Just go for it and he'll let ya know if it's good or not," I replied.  
  
"Do all guys like it?" Nora asked.  
  
"Shane loves it! But one of my ex-boyfriends did like it that much. Like I said, every guy is different," I said.  
  
"I haven't been with one guy that hasn't liked it!" Trish laughed. "But hun, there's really no wrong or right way to do it. Just go for it."  
  
"What if I don't like it?"  
  
"Then you tell him. Most girls don't like it. And it takes a long time for us to get used to it," Amy said. "I don't really like doing it, but I know Matt loves it, and I don't mind making him happy."  
  
"So if I wanna make him happy I should do it?"  
  
"NO! If you really don't like it, don't do it. It's as simple as that. He'll have to except it," Trish said.  
  
"Thanks guys. You've all been really great with this. I really appreciate it," Nora said. 


	6. Broken

A/N: I speak some French in this chapter. Now, I haven't taken French since my Junior year in high school so I'm a little rusty. So if any of you know it and it doesn't look or sound right to you, I apologize. I did the best I could.  
  
***********  
  
"Well, looks like you had a good girls' nite?" Shane asked wrapping his arms around my waist.  
  
"Mmmhmmm," I answered as I kissed him softly. "And this time I remember everything and I can honestly say I missed you!"  
  
"That's good to hear cause I missed you too," he said softly with a laugh before kissing me back.  
  
"Hey you two, no pda. You've both done enough of that in the past! But I hear the locker room is free if ya wanna give that a go!" Trish joked as she walked by us.  
  
"Shut up Trish!" I exclaimed.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Shane asked as he watched Trish smirk at us. He looked back at me as his face formed a scowl. "What's she talkin bout?"  
  
"Nothing," I said quickly pulling him down the hall.  
  
"Case, what'd you tell her?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing," I replied.  
  
"Casey," he said sternly. He stopped, jerking me back towards him. "What'd you say last nite?"  
  
I bit on my lower lip and nervously answered, "We had a massive discussion about sex."  
  
"You what?!" he yelled as I stepped back lowering my head in shame.  
  
"We all talked about sex," I repeated myself.  
  
"What'd you tell them?" he asked through clenched teeth.  
  
"Stuff," I answered softly.  
  
"Casey, what'd you tell them?! You didn't tell them anything personal, did you?"  
  
"It was about sex! Of course it was personal. But we're all friends so they're not gonna say anything," I said quietly.  
  
"You didn't tell them about that one time in the pool did you?"  
  
"Oh shit, I forgot about that one. I guess I'll have to add that one to the list for next time," I said with a smile.  
  
"Oh no you won't!" he yelled as I reached up to kiss his cheek.  
  
"Later baby."  
  
"Casey! Promise me you won't tell them!" he yelled as I walked away waving. "CASEY!!!"  
  
"What's so funny?" Amy asked as I walked into the locker room laughing.  
  
"Shane's upset that I told ya'll all that personal stuff about us," I said through my laughter.  
  
"Why'd you tell him you told us anything?" Nora asked.  
  
"Cause blondie over there was teasing us as she walked by," I laughed as I pointed towards Trish.  
  
"Qui, moi?" she asked innocently.  
  
"Oui tu," I replied placing my hands on hips.  
  
"J'aimee tu," she smiled.  
  
"Moi aussi," I laughed.  
  
"I'm so very confused," Amy said.  
  
*******  
  
"Shane, I tried the other day to get Jeff into me, but he wasn't buying. He said he was in love with someone already and she wasn't me," Mindy whispered.  
  
"Jesus, I need him gone. Try again," Shane insisted angrily.  
  
"Nope, sorry. One turn down per person. That's my rule," she said crossing her arms. She smiled up at Shane and placed her hands on his chest. "But uh, I'm willing to go again for a uh, a kiss."  
  
"Excuse me?" Shane asked.  
  
She slowly rose up on her toes and put her arms around his neck. She put her face up close to his and smiled seductively, "Kiss me and I'll try again."  
  
"A kiss?" Shane questioned.  
  
"Just a kiss," she smiled.  
  
"No one will ever find out about it?" Shane asked.  
  
"No one will ever find out," she nodded.  
  
He moved his lips slowly towards hers, "Not ever slut." He moved away quickly and smiled. "You're not worth it. I'd rather have Jeff threaten the relationship than me fuck it up by kissing your lips. Besides, I don't know where they have been." He pushed her back gently and walked away, leaving her stunned.  
  
"Shane? What were you talking to Mindy about?" I asked as I walked towards him. He smiled down at me and kissed my lips roughly.  
  
"I love you. Don't ever forget that," he said before walking away. I shook my head in a confused manner and looked towards Mindy.  
  
"Ya know, I was this close to kissing your wonderful boyfriend," Mindy smirked as she began to walk by me. I grabbed her arm tightly in my hand and pulled her back, her face inches from mine.  
  
"Don't you ever go anywhere's near my boyfriend again!" I yelled.  
  
"And who's gonna stop me? Honey, it's a free world and I can do what I please," she said ripping her arm away. I smiled at her, letting out an evil laugh, and punched her in the nose causing blood to pour out and onto her tight super short mini skirt and top.  
  
"Don't fuck with me or my boyfriend, bitch," I exclaimed walking away as she held her hand to her nose.  
  
"You'll pay for this! Trust me you'll pay!" she yelled at me through her pain and tears.  
  
"Casey?!" Rob exclaimed in shock as he saw what happened.  
  
"She tried to kiss Shane. I'm not gonna let her get away with that," I said with a shrug.  
  
"Yeah, but you didn't have to probably break her nose!" he said.  
  
"Hey, don't mess with me and you won't get hurt. It's as simple as that. Besides someone needed to teach her a lesson," I said.  
  
"Casey, do you realize that she could get you suspended or worse, fired?!" Rob exclaimed.  
  
"Vince is not gonna do that to one of his top superstars," I said confidently.  
  
"You might wanna rethink that!" Rob yelled as I walked away.  
  
"Hey baby," I said as I walked up behind Shane.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"What do you wanna do tonite?" I asked.  
  
"I have some ideas," he said slyly.  
  
"Hmmm.......I think I have an idea about what you're thinking."  
  
"Shane, you're up!" a tech yelled as he walked by us.  
  
"I'll see you after my match against Randy," he said kissing my forehead and walking away.  
  
"Wait!" I yelled running up to him. I wrapped my arms around him tightly and sighed. "Be careful, okay? Randy's been gunning for ya ever since they put you two in this feud together."  
  
"Don't worry. I'll be fine," he said with a smile as I watched him walk away. I walked into the Diva's locker room quickly. Just in time to see Randy throw Shane over the ropes into the barricade.  
  
"Holy shit!" Nora exclaimed as there was a hush over the crowd.  
  
"That was planned, right?!" I said beginning to freak out. "Please fuckin tell me that was planned!"  
  
We watched the monitor as Randy stood in the ring gloating at the fact that Shane was wriggling in pain on the ground. Medics rushed out to his aid quickly as Mindy walked into the locker room holding a bandage to her nose. My face was pale white as she walked in front of the monitor.  
  
"Awe, did your boyfriend get hurt?" she said sarcastically. "My condolences to you."  
  
"You did this! You did this, you bitch!" I screamed as I pushed her into the wall.  
  
"Temper, temper. Don't you think you should be goin to see how Shane's doing?" she asked with a smug smile.  
  
"What the fuck did you do?!" I screamed.  
  
"Oh, I just asked Randy to do me a little favor. He was nice enough to step it up a bit. I'll have to remember to repay him for that," she laughed. I glared at her before slamming her head into the cement wall and walking away. I ran down the hall and into the first aid locker room to see Shane lying on a gurney  
  
"Oh Shane!" I cried as I ran to his side.  
  
"AAAHHHHH!!" he screamed out in pain as Nick examined his stomach.  
  
"Shane," I said as I gripped his hand tightly. I moved a piece of hair off his face and kissed his forehead. "Baby, are you alright?"  
  
"Fuck no!" he screamed. I winced at the tone of his voice as I rubbed his face with my hand. I looked down at his chest and then at his stomach to see an instant bruise begin to form.  
  
"Nick, what happened?" I asked tearfully.  
  
"Quite a few broken ribs. We're taking him to the hospital, right now," Nick answered as they started to wheel him towards the ambulance.  
  
"Can I go with him?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, jump in," Nick replied as I climbed in after them.  
  
"Case! What's goin on?!" Shannon yelled as he ran after us.  
  
"Goin to the hospital with Shane! Can you grab our stuff?" I yelled. He waved at me as the doors to the back of the ambulance closed.  
  
***********  
  
"As soon as I get out of here I'm gonna kick that asshole's ass!" Shane yelled as he laid in the hospital bed with 3 broken ribs and a severally bruised one.  
  
"Hun, when you get out, you'll be goin home for a vacation," I replied.  
  
"I know........" he said sadly.  
  
"I love you," I said with a pout. He smiled at me and kissed me gently.  
  
"I love you too." I laughed at him before curling up in the bed next to him. "I leave tomorrow."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Valentine's Day is four days away."  
  
"I know."  
  
"We're not gonna see each other?"  
  
"Shane, I'm gonna try my hardest to get to you. Really I am," I said softly as Shannon and Matt came walking into the room.  
  
"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Shane asked.  
  
"Casey, what the hell did you do?!" Matt exclaimed. I sat up and looked at him confused.  
  
"What are you talking about?" I asked.  
  
"Shane and Vince are goin off their rockers!" Shannon exclaimed.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You broke Mindy's nose!" Matt laughed.  
  
"They're pissed?" I questioned.  
  
"They're not too impressed, but when she told them what happened they laughed it off!" Shannon said laughing along with Matt.  
  
"Then you two just scared the shit outta me for no fuckin reason?!"  
  
"Pretty much," Matt said casually.  
  
"You assholes!" I laughed as I threw a pillow at them.  
  
"Actually, she's bein sent back to OVW. She doesn't have the skills right now for the WWE and there's no story line for her," Shannon said as they pulled up a seat.  
  
"Good. Now that bitch can stay away from you," I said nodding at Shane.  
  
"What are they talking about?" Shane asked slightly confused.  
  
"After I saw you talking to Mindy I walked up to her and she told me she tried to kiss you and so I punched her, causing her nose to break," I said proudly.  
  
"Why would you do that?" he asked slightly angry.  
  
"Cause she was trying to hurt our relationship. I was just trying to protect us and anyone else she may try to hurt," I said.  
  
"You shouldn't have. You really shouldn't have," Shane said as he stared up at the ceiling.  
  
"Why? What would you have liked me to do? Just walk by like nothing happened?!" I argued.  
  
"Yeah, that would have been nice!" Shane yelled.  
  
"Fuck that Shane. I just compromised my job for our relationship!" I yelled back as I stood in a huff.  
  
"Casey," Shannon said softly.  
  
"No, I'm goin. I'll be at the hotel. Have a fuckin nice trip home Shane," I said as I began to walk out the door.  
  
"Casey! Get back here! Come on! Be fuckin reasonable!" Shane yelled after me.  
  
"What's up with that?" Matt asked as he looked from the door back to Shane.  
  
"Dude, you shouldn't have yelled at her for doing something she believed was right," Shannon said in an angered tone.  
  
"I know, but it wasn't Mindy's fault," Shane said.  
  
"What do you mean. Of course it was her fault," Matt said.  
  
"No, I had a part in all this," Shane said.  
  
"You didn't try and kiss HER did you?" Shannon asked curiously.  
  
"No, I turned her down. But she wouldn't have tried to kiss me if it wasn't for the fact that I had asked her for a favor and she failed and I wanted her to try again," Shane answered.  
  
"Are the drugs affecting you in some strange ways?" Matt asked jokingly.  
  
"Yeah, what the fuck did they give you?!" Shannon laughed.  
  
"It's not the drugs. I asked her to hit on Jeff," Shane confessed.  
  
"You fuckin did what?!" Matt screamed as he rose out of the chair.  
  
"Yeah, I felt he threatened mine and Casey's relationship and I wanted to get rid of it. She failed though. He turned her down. Some shit about being in love with some other girl," Shane said with a shrug.  
  
"You tried to fuck with my brother's emotions?!" Matt yelled.  
  
"Matt, just calm down," Shannon said trying to be the reasoning force.  
  
"No, you don't mess with my brother and not expect to get yelled at by his older brother!" Matt yelled at Shannon. "Fuck you Shane!"  
  
Matt grabbed his coat and stormed out of the hotel room and ran after me. I hadn't gotten far before I broke down into tears. I sat on the steps outside of the hospital as Matt ran out. His brotherly instincts kicked in and he wrapped my up in his arms and called a cab to bring us back to the hotel. 


	7. Karaoke Madness

A/N: I stole something out of one of my favorite movies, A Walk To Remember. It's kinda weird, cause I'm not into sappy movies like that. I'm more of a horror, action, kinda girl. But I absolutely loved this movie. So if you haven't seen, go rent it. It actually made me cry. It's one of the very few that does. Shiloh and Pearl Harbor are the only other ones. Lol So, anyways, enjoy the chapter!  
  
*********  
"No baby. I can't get back this weekend. I've got a signing with Trish, Amy, Shannon, and unfortunately Jeff. I'm sorry," I said as I rolled my suitcase behind me down through the terminal.  
  
"That's alright. I understand. I'm not gonna love you any less," Shane joked.  
  
"You're not?! Oh thank the Lord!" I said in a preacher like tone.  
  
"Oh be quiet you!" Shane laughed. Where are ya headed?"  
  
"New Orleans," I sighed.  
  
"Traveling with Trish?"  
  
"Not tonite. She went down earlier with Nora and Christopher. I'm traveling with Matt," I replied.  
  
"Ah, I see. Where's Amy?"  
  
"She's with us too. But she's been kinda sick. I think she's got like the flu or something, I don't know."  
  
"Ya know what it probably is?"  
  
"No, what?"  
  
"She's probably pregnant."  
  
"She is not!"  
  
"And how would you know that? Are you her body? No, I think not!" Shane laughed.  
  
"You're on drugs!" I joked.  
  
"That's right I am, but they have nothing to do with this!"  
  
"That's not what I meant!" I laughed.  
  
"I know. I love you."  
  
"I love you too. I'll see you when I can," I said as I hung up.  
  
"How's Mr. Helms doing?" Matt asked as he placed his arm around my shoulder.  
  
"He's okay. Not the best in the world. But he's doin a little better than he was before," I answered.  
  
"How are you gonna deal with this signing?" Matt asked.  
  
"Sit as far down the line as possible from him," I smiled.  
  
"A smile! She can do it folks! It's a miracle!" Matt joked.  
  
"Hey, I smile," I said with a pout.  
  
"Oh yeah, that little half-assed smile," he laughed. "What would Adam say if he saw you smile like that?!"  
  
"He'd say, Kiddo, give me that smile that I'm famous for. Then he'd do that smile, making me smile, and him laugh," I answered with a laugh.  
  
"So, honey, do it!" Amy exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Matt. I laughed at them as our plane was called for boarding.  
  
***********  
  
Shannon and I walked up to the long table set up in the athletic complex. I let out a deep sigh as I sat down and waited for further instructions from the manager. Not long after Shannon and I got there, Amy, Trish, and Jeff arrived. I avoided Jeff at all costs, but at one point I looked towards him, noticing he was sitting off to the side by himself. I closed my eyes tightly as the manager of the store walked up to us.  
  
"I want to thank you all for coming. Now, there's a line of people stretched out down the road even. So, we should probably get started. We want to try to get through as many people as possible within two hours. I was thinking that maybe we could have Trish here, then Shannon, then Amy, then Jeff, then Casey?" he said. I felt my throat get dry and almost as if it was closing up on me. Everyone moved to their seats and I just stood there dumbfounded. I didn't want to move, I just wanted to stand there as long as possible if it meant not being next to him.  
  
"Case, you gonna be alright?" Shannon asked. I looked up at him and nodded. He hugged me tightly and took his seat next to Trish. I slowly took my seat next to Jeff and breathed in deeply, taking in his familiar sent.  
  
"Okay, are you all ready for the madness?" the manager joked as he opened the doors.  
  
For two hours I sat next to Jeff, signing autographs uncomfortably. The line seemed to be unending and I felt bad for all the people that we couldn't see because the store wouldn't allow it. As I stood, I stretched my arms out and yawned, smacking Jeff in the head at the same time. Choking back my laughter, he looked at me with a slight smile.  
  
"Sorry," I apologized as I looked towards the floor.  
  
"Don't worry about it," he said softly as he walked off ahead of the rest of us.  
  
"Well, that's progress," Shannon joked as he slipped his arm around my shoulders.  
  
"Ya know what all of us should do?" Trish asked excitedly. Jeff stopped and turned to look back at us. We all shrugged at her as her smile grew bigger. "We should go round Lilian, Chris, Matt, Marc, plus Adam, John, Steph, maybe Paul, and Shane-O and go to a karaoke bar!"  
  
"Why?" I asked.  
  
"Cause it would be fun! Come on! It's not like any of you guys should be nervous about singing in front of people! All of you have awesome voices," Trish said.  
  
"I.......I don't know. I mean, I can handle singing in front of you guys or around people I know. But I don't think I could do this," I replied nervously as I started to walk by them.  
  
"Come on, Case! Please? You have a terrific voice!" Amy pleaded. I turned and looked at her.  
  
"Yeah, alright. Let's go," I said unhappily.  
  
"You're comin too, right Jeff?" Trish asked hopefully.  
  
"Yeah, sure, why not? It could be fun to watch you guys screw up," he smiled half-heartedly.  
  
We all went back to our hotel and gathered the people Trish had suggested we get to go. Dressed in ultra low rise black glitter flares and a dark blue midriff top, I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail. I slid my denim jacket over my arms and sighed as Trish grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door with her. We all walked down the road, huddled together, towards the closest bar.  
  
"So, what are ya'll gonna sing?" Trish asked.  
  
"Nothing, I'm just here to see ya'll screw up," Jeff and I answered in unison. I rolled my eyes at him and watched as someone was singing, horribly off key to "Respect".  
  
"Oh no, you both will be doin a song!" Shannon laughed. "Case, why don't we do a song together?"  
  
"Alright, I guess it'd be alright to do a duet," I laughed as he pulled me out of my seat. We decided on the remix to Britney Spear's "Boys".  
  
"We have a couple new comers here. They're gonna do their best tonite. So give it up for Shannon and Casey!" we were announced.  
  
"For whatever reason, I feel like I've been wanting you all my life. You don't understand. I'm so glad we're at the same place at the same time. It's over now," I said nervously as I gripped the microphone tightly. I stared out at all the people looking back at me. I swallowed hard as Shannon put his arm around my waist, pulling close to him.  
  
"Relax, you're alright," Shannon whispered in my ear.  
  
"I spotted you dancin'. You made all the girls stare. Those lips and your brown eyes. And the sexy hair. I should shake my thang. Make the world want you. Tell your boys you'll be back. I wanna see what you can do," I sang as I started to move with the music, feeling a little bit more at home. I smiled our packed table and everyone smiled back. I turned towards Shannon and remembered that this is where I always wanted to be since I was a little kid. On a stage, singing, and dancing with the audience eating out of the palm of my hand. Now was my time to do it! "What would it take for you to just leave with me? Not trying to sound conceited but You and me were meant to be You're a sexy guy, I'm a nice girl. Let's turn this dance floor into our own little nasty world."  
  
I smiled at Shannon as I moved closer to him. He looked me up and down, laughing as we began to move to the music rhythmically. "Boys! Sometimes a girl just needs one. Boys! To love her and to hold. Boys! And when a girl is with one. Boys! Then she's in control!"  
  
I began to dance around Shannon as he did his part in the song. We were really working the crowd and I felt great. It was like how I always dreamed. Ever since I was a little girl, maybe 4 years old, I knew I wanted to be a singer. That was always my thing. I always sang around the house, danced, did whatever I could, but for some reason I always had it in the back of my head that it would never happened so I guess I never tried hard enough. That was my real passion. Don't get me wrong, I love wrestling and I knew I would never not be wrestling, but singing was always my forte. And I was finally at that time when I could share it with everyone else. Before I knew it, it was over. My moment in the spotlight was over and I was fairly satisfied. I sat back down in my seat and was greeted with pats on the back and words of praise from my friends and family. It was almost time for us all to leave and the only person that hadn't done a song was Jeff. He just wouldn't budge. Personally I had done 3 songs already, but my voice was wary and I knew I couldn't do much more.  
  
"Case, we want Jeff to get up there before we go," Amy whispered to me as Marc, Paul, Chris, and Shane-O sang a Garth Brooks song, "I've Got Friends In Low Places".  
  
"Yeah, so? What do you want me to do about it?" I asked as I watched Marc dance around the stage like a ballerina.  
  
"Sing with him. We know that if you go up there with him, he'll do it," Amy whispered.  
  
"No Amy," I said simply.  
  
"Why not? You two have been doin pretty good. You even talked today," Amy begged.  
  
"No, get Matt to go up with him," I replied.  
  
"We tried that, please?!" she pleaded.  
  
"FINE" I exclaimed giving in as she leaned over to Jeff happily.  
  
"She'll do it," she whispered in his ear. He smiled as he stood and picked out our song. I reluctantly stood on the stage, microphone in hand, and waited as the music started. Out of all the songs he could pick, I never expected him to do this one.  
  
"Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer, she's a juvenile scam. Never was a quitter, tasty like a raindrop, she's got the look. Heavenly bound cause heaven's got a number when she's spinning me around, Kissing is a colour, her loving is a wild dog, she's got the look," he sang as he turned to me. I rolled my eyes at him as we sang together.  
  
"She's got the look. She's got the look. What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue. When everything I'll ever do I'll do for you and I go: la la la la la She's got the look."  
  
"Fire in the ice, naked to the T-bone is a lover's disguise. Banging on the head drum, shaking like a mad bull, she's got the look. Swaying to the band, moving like a hammer, she's a miracle man. Loving is the ocean, Kissing is the wet sand,  
  
she's got the look."  
  
"She's got the look. She's got the look. What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue. When everything I'll ever do I'll do for you and I go: la la la la la She's got the look."  
  
At the end of the song we did our bows as I leaned over to him and whispered, "I hope you know this doesn't change anything between us."  
  
"I honestly didn't think it would," he replied as we walked off the stage.  
  
********  
  
"Where are you headed off to?" Trish asked as I continued to pack my suitcase.  
  
"I'm goin home for the nite. Late Valentine's Day and stuff. I'll be back tomorrow nite," I answered.  
  
"Oh okay. So, how'd it feel to be with Jeff last nite?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Weird and uncomfortable," I answered.  
  
"Really? Do you think it'll get better?" she asked.  
  
"I hope," I replied as I looked around the room. "Alright, I think I'm ready. See ya girl!"  
  
"Bye!" she yelled as I walked out the door.  
  
I flew into the Raleigh airport, alone waited for Shane's brother to come pick me up. I expected to see his curly haired brother walked through the doors, but instead I got his long curly haired sister, Tiffany.  
  
"Hey, I was expecting Mike," I said as she brought me into a hug.  
  
"Yeah, I know. He called me this morning asking if I could pick you up cause he wanted to go anniversary shopping for Jen," she said with a laugh. "How are you doing?"  
  
"Oh, fine. You? How's Erin?" I asked curiously about her daughter.  
  
"Oh she's great. She's staying with her father over winter break," she answered as we hopped into her Blazer. "Does Shane know you're coming?"  
  
"Nope, total surprise," I smiled as I watched the scenery pass us by.  
  
"He'll love that. Mom's been hangin around his house makin sure he's alright. He's so babied!" she laughed. "How long you here for?"  
  
"Just the nite. I have to be in Minnesota," I answered.  
  
"Well, he'll still be happy," she smiled.  
  
"Yeah, I'm hoping," I laughed.  
  
"SURPRISE!!!" I yelled as I burst into Shane's room. He looked up from his comic book and smiled brightly at me.  
  
"Casey! What the fuck are you doin here?!" he exclaimed excitedly as I jumped on the bed next to him.  
  
"I thought I'd visit you. I had the day off so I wanted to come see you and do a late Valentine's Day," I answered.  
  
"Well, there's not much I can do for you tonite," he said sadly.  
  
"I don't care. We're together and that's all that matters," I smiled. "I got you something." I stood up and dug through my bag, taking out a gift bag. "I noticed you didn't have this one."  
  
"Oh my God! It's the first ever Green Lantern," he smiled as he reached up carefully to kiss my lips. "I had it once before, but my sister ripped it up in a rage of anger."  
  
"Well, now you have it again," I smiled.  
  
"I did get you something. It's over there in the top drawer," he said as he pointed to the dresser. "It's not much, but I thought you might like it."  
  
I pulled out a tube and sat on the bed as I opened it. I looked down at a map of the nite sky, full of stars. There was one that was pointed out on the map and a certificate fell out. "What is this?" I asked confused.  
  
"You remember that nite that I said I wished I could give you a star cause of how beautiful you two are?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, that was sweet," I smiled dreamily.  
  
"Well, I got you a star," he said.  
  
"You got me a star?" I asked skeptically.  
  
"Yeah, I got a star named after you. I thought you'd really like something like that," he smiled.  
  
"Oh my God Shane. That's so sweet and romantic! I love you!" I said happily as I kissed his lips tenderly.  
  
"You really like it? It's not some stupid gift?" he asked.  
  
"It's great, thank you," I smiled.  
  
**********  
  
A/N2: So how'd ya'll like the interaction between Jeff and Casey in this chapter? They actually spoke! Oh my God! It's the end of the world! Lol But anyways, I want you all to picture Marc aka Bubba, dancing around as a ballerina. When I wrote it, I was LAUGHING so hard. It was really bad. Anyways, I'm done. LATA YA'LL!!! 


	8. Tragedy Hits

A/N: Okay, I had one of the best nites last nite! Lol I was talking to that guy I like, Matt and his friend Ben. Yes, the Ben from the story. Lol Anyways, they were completely and totally getting drunk. By the time they had gotten off, they were totally gone. Lol It was the best thing ever! Apparently, Ben loves me and wants to have my babies. Lol Anyways, just felt like sharing.  
  
*********  
  
"So, when's Shane coming back?" Chris asked as I walked into the arena with him.  
  
"We're not sure. He might be back next month," I answered.  
  
"That's been what 3 months?" Chris asked.  
  
"Sure will be. I miss him," I sighted.  
  
"I know killer," he laughed as he left me in the hall.  
  
"Hello?" I said answering my ringing cell phone. "Oh hey Jess. What about Amy? No way. Do they know who? Fuck, I knew it was a bad. I told her. How did they find out? Oh my God. That's horrible. No wonder I didn't get a call from her. Fuck. Yeah, I'm alright. Are you alright? I'll see what I can do about goin up. Yeah, okay. Keep me informed. Bye Jessy." I hung up my cell phone and took in a few deep breathes as I stood in the middle of the hall. "FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKK!!!" I screamed as Jeff came around the corner.  
  
"Casey?" he asked as he began to walk up to me. I slowly turned around to face him. No tears streaming down my face, even though they tried hard. He walked closer to me and tilted his head to the side. "Casey? Are you alright?" I blinked rapidly as I fell forward into his arms. "Casey? Case!!!" he screamed at me, but I was out cold. "Oh shit." He lifted me up into his arms and carried me into the closest locker room which at the moment was deserted. He carefully laid me down on the floor and placed my head on his lap. He combed his hand through my hair as he looked down at me.  
  
"Jeff?" Rob said walking into the locker room. He placed his bags on the bench and looked down at us. "What the fuck happened?"  
  
"I don't know. I was walking down the hall and she was standing there and just screamed fuck. So I walked up to her and she fainted in my arms. I didn't know what to do man," Jeff said looking up at Rob.  
  
"I'll go get Nick," Rob said as he ran out the door.  
  
I slowly opened my eyes and looked up into Jeff's. It had been so long since I looked into his eyes. He ran his soft hand down my cheek as he looked down at me. "Casey, are you alright?"  
  
"Umm.........no," I said as I sat up. I looked up at the ceiling and pushed back my tears.  
  
"What happened? I mean I know we're not friends, but if you need to tell someone, I'm here," he said softly.  
  
"One of my friends from school is dead," I cried allowing my tears to go freely.  
  
"Not Jessy, right?" he worried.  
  
"No, Amy," I answered.  
  
"Oh no. Case, I'm sorry. What happened? Did she get sick?"  
  
"No. She was killed. Murdered. Stabbed to death," I cried as I threw myself on him. He slowly wrapped his arms around me as I cried on his chest.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"She had this internet guy, and for years they talked. She decides to go see him in New York. And it was only supposed to be for two days. But she never came back. Her parents went down to the address and it was an abandoned warehouse and they found her dead with tons of stab wounds. She's dead," I cried.  
  
"Shhh.......you gotta go home," he said softly.  
  
"I don't think I can. I don't think I can bare Maine, I don't think Vince will let me off," I answered.  
  
"Yes he will. I'm gonna go get things straightened with him and then get you a flight to Shane. Then you two can both decide what you think you should do," Jeff said as he started to let me go.  
  
"NO!! Jeff, please don't go," I cried as I latched onto him.  
  
"Alright, I'm not gonna go anywhere's," he said taking me back into his arms.  
  
"Alright, what's wrong? What happened?" Nick asked as he rushed in carrying his equipment. "Casey?" I looked up at him barely able to see his dark hair through my thick tears. "What happened?"  
  
"Her friend was killed. I need someone to get Vince in here and someone to go get one of the girls to gather her things," Jeff said calmly as he stroked my hair. Both Nick and Rob ran out the door to do as they were asked. Minutes later, Vince ran into the room, tissues in hand.  
  
"Jeff, tell me what happened," Vince requested as he sat on the floor next to us.  
  
"One of her friends from school was killed by this guy that she talked to online. He asked her to come to New York for a visit and it was only supposed to be for two days. She never went home. Her parents went to the address that he gave them and all that was there was an abandoned warehouse. Inside, her friend was dead with multiple stab wounds. You need to let her go Vince. You need to give her time off," Jeff demanded.  
  
"Of course! I wouldn't think to keep her here. Amy's getting her stuff together and a couple of plane tickets. Jeff, I think it best for you to go with her. Get her home safely, then come back for the next show. Casey, I'm going to give you two weeks off. If you need more time, you let me know," Vince said as he softly put his hand on my back.  
  
"Thank you," I choked out.  
  
"No problem. Just take care of yourself and get some rest. I'll see you in a few weeks," Vince smiled as he stood.  
  
"Ummm.......Vince, I don't think I should be the one to go with her," Jeff said before Vince could walk out the door.  
  
"Jeff, I don't think we'll be able to pry her off you," Vince said pointing to my arms that were wrapped around Jeff tightly.  
  
"But sir, we're not, she and I........we're not friends," Jeff said sadly.  
  
"If you weren't friends would she honestly be like that with you?" Vince asked crossing his large arms over his chest.  
  
"I suppose not," Jeff said softly.  
  
"Alright, so I'll see you, Thursday," Vince said with a smile.  
  
"Okay, thank you," Jeff replied as Vince left.  
  
"Oh my God!" Amy said through tears of her own as she knelt down on the floor.  
  
"Did you get all her stuff?" Jeff asked.  
  
"Yep, and tickets are reserved at the airport. Are you sure you can take her?" Amy asked as Jeff stood me up.  
  
"I don't really have a choice here Ames. She's kinda glued to me," Jeff joked.  
  
"Take care of her, okay?" Amy asked as she kissed my wet cheek.  
  
"I'll do what I can," Jeff said softly as he tried his hardest to hold both our bags and me.  
  
*********  
  
"Umm......I'm sorry that Vince insisted that I come with you," Jeff said softly as we waited for the plane to lift off.  
  
"That's okay," I said with a sniffle as I looked out the window with my arms crossed tightly over me.  
  
"Are you gonna be okay?" he asked caringly. I looked over at him as the tears just flowed once again.  
  
"I can't believe she's gone," I cried. "I tried to talk her out of it. Really I did. She was supposed to call me when she got back on Sunday. I didn't think anything of it when she didn't call."  
  
"It's okay."  
  
"I never got to say goodbye. I'm never gonna be able to talk to her about that one special summer. She's gone Jeff. She's gone. Someone killed her for the fuckin fun of it!" I cried angrily as Jeff pulled me into his body.  
  
Jeff held me for the rest of the flight. He never once slept, making sure I was alright and comfortable. I was so worn out emotionally that that's all I could do for the flight. Jeff understood. He was once again my rock. I missed that. And all I could think about while I slept was is this going to affect my relationship with him and Shane. I didn't think about how kind he was being towards someone who was nothing but a bitch to him.  
  
"Casey, case, wake up babe," he whispered to me.  
  
'Babe, he called me babe,' I thought as a small smile crossed my face. I sat up and stretched, looking out the window. "What?"  
  
"I wanted you to see the sun rise," he smiled. He put his hand on my shoulder gently and massaged it as we watched the sun rise over the clouds.  
  
"It's so beautiful. It kinda gives me hope, that things will get better," I sighed.  
  
"Things will get better. Do they know who did it?"  
  
"Yeah, or at least they think they do. The guy could have been lying for all we know."  
  
"That's true," he said letting out a deep sigh. "Casey, I'm so sorry. None of this should have happened to you."  
  
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked.  
  
"Why wouldn't I be?"  
  
"Jeff, I've been nothing but a bitch to you for, almost 6 months now."  
  
"I deserved it."  
  
"No you didn't. And I just want you to know that I'm happy for you and Mindy."  
  
"What?" he asked sounding almost shocked.  
  
"I am. You deserve someone in your life. I hope you and Mindy are happy together."  
  
"Mindy and I are NOT together!" he laughed.  
  
"Did you two break up?'  
  
"Case, we were never together," Jeff replied shaking his head.  
  
"But I saw you two a while ago making out in the hall."  
  
"Yyyou saw that?" he stuttered.  
  
"Yeah, I did."  
  
"Casey, she jumped on me. I didn't kiss her. She kissed me. I pushed her off me. I told her I was in.........I told her I didn't like her."  
  
"You did?"  
  
"Yeah, I did."  
  
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed," I apologized.  
  
"Did it, did it upset you?" he asked dropping his head so he looked at the floor.  
  
"Yeah, it did," I answered softly. He looked up at me placed his lips on mine softly. With everything I had, I pushed him off me and shook my head. "Jeff, you know I can't do this. Please don't."  
  
"I'm sorry. It was wrong of me. I just, I'm so sorry Casey. We were making progress and I thought, I don't know what I thought. But I was wrong and I'm so terribly sorry."  
  
"It's okay," I smiled.  
  
********  
  
"Oh God Case! Come here," Shane exclaimed as he greeted us at the door. I carefully wrapped my arms around his still fragile body. I cried on his chest as Jeff unloaded the car. "Let's take you to the room, okay?" I nodded at him as he pulled me up the stairs with him. He tucked me into the king sized bed and kissed my forehead softly. "I love you Angel. Everything is gonna be alright." He nodded at me before walking down the stairs.  
  
"I brought all her stuff in for her. It's all in your living room," Jeff said as he uncomfortably stuck his hands in his front pockets.  
  
"Thanks," Shane replied coolly.  
  
"Take care of her man. She's hurting badly," Jeff said.  
  
"I always take care of her. I don't need you to tell me to do so," Shane replied.  
  
"Sorry, just tryin to help," Jeff said softly. "I guess I'll go. Tell her bye for me. And that I'm thinking of her."  
  
"Yeah, sure. Bye," Shane said practically shoving Jeff out the door. Shane quickly walked back up to me, bringing water with him.  
  
"Did Jeff leave?" I asked as I wiped my cheek with a tissue.  
  
"Yeah, he left," Shane replied as he handed me the water.  
  
"Did he say anything?"  
  
"Nope, left without a word," Shane smiled sweetly at me.  
  
"Oh, okay," I replied sadly.  
  
"Just get some rest, sleep. I'll call Jessy and see what's goin on. Okay?" Shane said as I laid back down. I nodded at him as he kissed me before he left. He licked his lips and narrowed his eyebrows. "That's a new taste. New lip gloss?"  
  
"Huh?" I asked confused as I thought back to the plane ride where Jeff kissed me. 'Shit!' I thought as I licked my lips, trying to get the taste off them. "Oh, umm, yeah. But I don't really like it."  
  
"Ya know, neither do I. Kinda, weird tasting," he said with a shrug before he shut the door behind him. 


	9. Emotions

A/N: Wow, I'm right on the ball with these chapters lately. Go me, go me! I'm very proud of myself! Lol How was that last chapter for ya? Just a little upsetting wasn't it? Lol Don't worry, that didn't really happen. Not that I think ya'll thought it did, but just letting ya'll know it didn't.  
  
******  
  
"Casey, don't you think you should get up?" Shane asked rubbing my shoulder gently. I looked up at him with my eyes all red and puffy. "Oh come on baby. I know this is still really hard for you to deal with, but you've been lying here for almost a week. Jessy called and said that the funeral is on Saturday. I reserved tickets for us to go up there. Jessy said we could stay with her. Don't you think you should go?"  
  
"I can't Shane. I just can't," I said softly.  
  
"Please, you haven't even eaten much. Come on. I'll be right there with you."  
  
"Shane, I fear death. It's the scariest thing to me. I can't go to a funeral."  
  
"Casey, it's for one of your very good friends. And it'll be closed casket. Maybe it's time for you to face your fears. You went to the hospital that first time and now it's nothing, right?"  
  
"Shane this is different."  
  
"Case, you faced your fear back then. You can do it now. I'll be right there," he said as he held my hand tightly in his. "Maybe goin will give you a sense of relief."  
  
"Alright. When does the plane leave?" I asked.  
  
"Tomorrow morning. We'll come back right after if that's what you want. And then we'll both just lay here and do nothing together."  
  
"Alright, as long as you're there with me," I said giving in. He kissed my cheek lightly as I laid back down.  
  
"My mother is coming over to make us dinner," Shane said.  
  
"I'm not hungry."  
  
"Casey, you've barely eaten. Please, you need to eat something," Shane pleaded.  
  
"Well, I'm not getting dressed."  
  
"I'm not asking you to. And my mom will understand."  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you too." He smiled at me and left me to sleep until his mom would come.  
  
"Oh dear, you look like an absolute wreck," Christine said as she pulled me into a hug.  
  
"Mom," Shane scolded.  
  
"No, Shane, I do. Cause I feel that way," I replied. She moved hair out of my face and smiled.  
  
"You look like you need your parents," she said to me.  
  
"If only I had some," I smiled.  
  
"Oh honey, you do. Gil loves you so much. Why didn't you stay with him?" she asked.  
  
"Because Jeff brought me here. I wanted to be with Shane. And I honestly don't think Dad would have known what to do with a girl this upset," I replied.  
  
"Well, what about Mark?"  
  
"He's working, Mom," Shane answered for me.  
  
"Well, hmmm, you don't have a mother figure in your life do you?"  
  
"No," I said sadly as tears began to prick the back of my eyes.  
  
"Oh honey, don't hold it back. You can cry," Christine said as we walked into the living room.  
  
"I'm so sick of crying," I choked out.  
  
"I know. But that's the best medicine sometimes," she said smoothing out my hair.  
  
Shane walked into the living room and smiled at us before leaving us alone. Hours later, Christine left and Shane and I retreated to bed to be ready for the flight in the early morning. We drove in silence in my newly painted Mustang to the airport. Shane had his brother take it to the shop to be painted a dark blue with light blue flames on the sides for an extra Valentine's Day gift.  
  
"Jessy's picking us up right?" I asked softly as we settled into our seats on the plane.  
  
"The guy is," Shane answered. I started laughing and he looked at me like I was crazy, but a smile seemed to form on his face. "You're laughing."  
  
"Yeah, I guess I am," I smiled. "I just thought it was funny that you said the guy is."  
  
"I'm happy. I'm happy to hear your little soft laugh again." He put his arm around me and pulled me close to his body. I put my head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of my head.  
  
*******  
  
As soon as I walked into Jessy's house, the house that I spent 80% of my life in, memories of Amy came to me. From the chair that she loved so much to the time the Christmas party we had one year. Shane pulled me into his body as we stood in the door way. Mike, Jessy's little brother, walked down the hall and into the kitchen. He stood at the counter and smiled at me. I looked around the room I stood in and noticed not much had changed since I left. I looked back and realized that he had grown into a handsome young man. Tall, about 6', short blonde hair, a clear complexion, and with a buff body. It was funny, there was always that connection between he and I. Sometimes I almost felt like he had a crush on me, but he was so much younger than me, four or five years. It would have never worked out between us, I only saw him as a brother anyways. It worked out that way. I always felt like I was apart of this family.  
  
"How are you doing Casey?" Julie, Jessy's mother, asked.  
  
"I could be better," I replied. "This Shane, my boyfriend. Shane, this is Julie, Jessy's mom."  
  
"It's nice to meet you," Shane said with a nod of his head.  
  
"Well, Jessy's in her room, if you want to go see her," Julie smiled.  
  
"Thanks," I replied as I took Shane's hand and led him down the hall towards her room. She sat on her bed, her head in her hands, with Jesse sitting next to her. I walked in and placed my bags on the floor. She looked up at me, and without a word, we both knew what we needed. We took each other into our bodies and hugged. Shane took a seat next to Jesse on the bed as Jessy and I just stood there.  
  
"How's she doin? I didn't wanna ask in the car," Jesse said.  
  
"She hasn't been dealin with it too well. She's not eating much, not getting out of bed, it's been really hard on her," Shane replied.  
  
"Jessy too. I wish there was something I could do for her, but I know there's not," Jesse said hanging his head. "Ya know, I proposed to her on Valentine's Day?"  
  
"No, Case never mentioned it. But then again, I've been out with broken ribs so we haven't been focusing on anyone but us when we get to speak. Congratulations man," Shane said shaking Jesse's hand firmly.  
  
"How are you?" Jessy asked softly as we pulled away and looked into each other dark gray blue eyes.  
  
"I'm here, so I guess that's something," I replied. "You?"  
  
"Casey, I don't think I can do this," she said breaking down into tears.  
  
"Jessy, if I can do this, you can do this," I said gripping her shoulders gently.  
  
"I'm not as strong as you Case."  
  
"Bull shit. Jessy, you are so much more emotionally stronger than me. Always have been," I sighed.  
  
"I'm just glad you're here with me."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Jessy, why don't you umm, show Case the ring?" Jesse suggested clearing his throat.  
  
"Ring?" I questioned.  
  
"I forgot to tell you. Jesse asked me to marry him," Jessy said smiling through her sadness. She held out her hand to me and I smiled as I looked at the diamond set upon a platinum band with tiny alternating sapphires and diamonds on the band.  
  
"It's beautiful. Congratulations," I said as I hugged her once again before moving onto Jesse.  
  
"May I see it?" Shane asked as Jessy held her hand out to him. He took her hand softly in his and examined the fine craftsmen ship. "It's beautiful." He hugged her tightly and smiled.  
  
*********  
  
I stood in the bathroom, throwing my newly died black hair in a ponytail. I had been crying all morning and it showed on my face. It was Saturday morning, an hour before the funeral. I placed my hands on the edge of the sink and sighed. I walked out of the bathroom slowly, practically dragging my feet, and stopped as Jessy came towards me in a black knee length skirt and black sweater. She and I looked at each other with tears in our eyes and like earlier in the day, just hugged each other without a word. We hadn't spoken much all morning, in fact no one had. The house was deathly silent and uncomfortable. No one knew exactly what to say.  
  
"You ready?" Shane asked barely in a whisper. I just looked over at him and nodded. He took my hand tightly in his and we started for the car. I started to walk by Mike in the kitchen when he placed his hand on my arm gently. I turned, looked at him, and let go of Shane's hand. I hugged him in a sisterly way and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.  
  
"You'll be okay," he whispered to me as Shane took my hand once again. I followed him to Jessy's car and slid into the backseat where I placed my head on his shoulder. Jesse drove, as Jessy was absolutely in no shape to be driving any place.  
  
When we got to the funeral home Jessy and I slowly, side by side, followed the guys inside. She took my hand as we stood in the entrance way looking at all the people crying. She turned to me, with tears of her own streaming down her face, and said, "I honestly can't do this."  
  
"I don't think I can either," I whispered trying desperately to hold back my tears.  
  
"Casey?" Shane said breaking me out of my zone. He held me to his body tightly before walking me to our seats. Jessy, sitting next to me, held my hand tightly as the ceremony began. The whole time I had my head resting on Shane's shoulder, while I cried.  
  
As soon as it was all over, Jessy and I said our condolences to Amy's family and left. We just couldn't stay around any longer. Shane and I packed up our things, thanked Jessy's family and loaded the car.  
  
"Thank you Case. Thank you so much for being here with me," Jessy sniffed as she watched Shane and Jesse load up the car.  
  
"I just wish we didn't have to do this. I still can't except the fact that she's gone," I said softly.  
  
"Come on you two," Shane said as we all got into the car.  
  
*******  
  
"Are you okay?" Shane asked as I pulled on a sweatshirt.  
  
"I will be better soon," I replied before placing a kiss on his cheek. I gave him a slight nod, grabbed my car keys, grabbed my cell phone, and began to leave.  
  
"Casey, where are you going?" Shane asked quickly.  
  
"I'll be back in a few hours. I'll be fine. I love you," I replied as I walked out the door. Shane stood at the door, watching me leave, shaking his head disapprovingly.  
  
I cranked the cd Jeff gave me all the way up as I drove towards home. I needed to go to my special place and as fast as possible. I had never told Shane about the lake and field behind Jeff's house. Or even the bench we had decorated. That was mine and Jeff's little secrete. I pulled up Matt and Amy's driveway and used my key to get in the house. I quickly ran up to my room, saying hello to Comet on my way up, and pulled on all my dirt bike gear. I ran downstairs, pulled my bike out of the garage, and sped off towards Jeff's. I figured Jeff wouldn't be home, but wasn't positive so as I past his house I waved to a barking Liger that happened to be up on the back of Jeff's couch barking excitedly as I passed. I continued through the field and soon the serene area came into view. The lake was glistening under the bright March sun and the trees swayed slightly in the breeze. I got off my bike and ran my hand along the bench as I passed it. I slowly moved to the tree and sat down, resting my back against it's rough bark, staring out at the water. I took a deep breath and hung my head as I began to cry.  
  
"What are you doing here?" I looked up immediately when I heard that voice. Even though I had cause him so much pain he had always spoke in a soft caring voice, but not this time. It was one of only a few times I could actually sense anger in his voice towards me.  
  
"What?" I asked softly as I wiped my cheek.  
  
"I asked what you were doing here," he replied impatiently.  
  
"I needed to get away and this is usually the only place that can make me feel better," I said.  
  
"This is my place," he said coldly as he crossed his arms.  
  
"Your place? I thought you told me it was OUR place?" I replied angrily.  
  
"It would be if you had called me back," he said as he sat on the bench roughly.  
  
I looked over at him and narrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What calls? You're the one that dropped me off at Shane's without a word."  
  
"Bull shit. I told him to tell you that I was thinking of you and bye," he shouted back at me.  
  
"Maybe he didn't hear you then. But you never once called me," I said through clenched teeth.  
  
"I've called you at least twice everyday since I left you. I was completely worried about you. But I guess you didn't care about that."  
  
"Fuck you Jeff. Shane would have fuckin told me you called if you had. And he didn't so you didn't," I yelled as I stood.  
  
"Fine, call Ames if you don't believe me," Jeff said shoving his cell phone in my face.  
  
"I have my own cell phone," I replied pulling it out of my pocket.  
  
"Yeah, I know. I gave it to you!" Jeff yelled as he turned his back to me.  
  
"Hello?" Amy answered.  
  
"Hey, I have a question for ya," I said.  
  
"Case, how was everything? Are you doin okay?" she asked.  
  
"I'll talk to you about that later. Right now I have a question I need you to answer."  
  
"Okay, shoot."  
  
"Did Jeff call me this week?"  
  
"Oh hell yeah! Every time I turned around he was on the phone callin to see if you were doin okay," she answered.  
  
"Are you serious? Or are you making this up cause he wanted me to feel stupid?"  
  
"Casey, I wouldn't lie to you. He seriously called you constantly," she replied.  
  
"Oh, I um, I have to go. I'll talk to you later."  
  
"Okay, take care."  
  
"See?" Jeff said as I pocketed my phone.  
  
"I'm sorry Jeff. I had no clue you called," I said hanging my head.  
  
"That's alright," his tone softened.  
  
"No, it's not. I appreciate your concern. I really do. And when I get back to Shane's I'll yell at him for it," I said.  
  
"Casey, I can't do this anymore," Jeff said with an exasperated sigh.  
  
"What are you talking about?" I asked as I sat next to him on our bench.  
  
"Everyplace I go, I think of you. I can't sleep at nite cause you're always in my head. I need you Casey. Having you in my arms that one nite was the best thing I've felt in so long. I don't do anything without the bracelet on. I never take it off. I smell you all over my house. I need you back in my life," Jeff pleaded.  
  
"Jeff, it's not that easy."  
  
"Yes it is! Casey, I will forget everything that happened to us if we can just go back to the way we were!"  
  
"Things will never be the same for us Jeff. NEVER!!!"  
  
"Why not?!" Jeff demanded.  
  
"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!!!!" I screamed.  
  
"I love you too. That's why I need you back in my life."  
  
"Jeff, I can't break Shane's heart. We can never be friends like we used to be after knowing what we know about each other."  
  
"Please Casey, I'm begging you."  
  
"I can't Jeff. I just can't."  
  
"Ya know what Case? This whole thing sucks. It's like you don't even care that our once strong friendship went down the drain!"  
  
"You don't think this isn't hard on me?! Jeff, this all hurts like hell. I miss you so much not being in my life. You were always the one I turned to when something went wrong and now you're not there. What the fuck do you think I do with all my emotions?! I bottle them inside because no one understands me like you do! And Jeff, you're right this whole thing does suck!" I yelled as I stood. I began to walk back to the bike when he grabbed my arm. I turned and faced him, staring deeply into his deep green eyes.  
  
"At least tell me that you think about that kiss. Tell me that the kiss meant something to you."  
  
"It made me feel like I've never felt before. I can't even explain it. It was the best thing in the world Jeff, it truly was," I answered as I hopped on the bike and sped off.  
  
"If it made you feel that way, than why don't you come back to me?" Jeff asked himself as he watched me leave. 


	10. She's like a box of chocolates

A/N: Hey all! I just wanted to let ya'll know that I've started a new story. I got some creative inspiration and started writing. It's called Connection. It has Edge, Lita, RVD, Shannon Moore, Charlie Haas, and will eventually have the Hardyz. It's in the 3rd person revolving around a character I made up called Cinder Copeland. Yes, Edge's sister. I just think he seems like the best older brother. I don't know why, but he does. It's a high school story. I really don't know why I'm venturing into that area of the world since high school was like hell for me! But anyways, please check it out. I'm gonna try and work on both of these stories. Hopefully I can do a 3rd person story. I've never done one like that, it's a new thing for me. So bare with me. lol Anyways, here's the next chapter. Oh! I wanted to apologize for the lack of wrestling matches in my story right now. I haven't been able to watch WWE for a couple weeks so I haven't had the inspiration for them. But I plan to catch up this weekend and then you'll probably be seein more matches. And a little heads up, next Wednesday, I'm goin to NY and CT cause it's my nephew Christening and I won't have a computer handy. So I won't be able to update starting March 26 till the 30. I will be writing the chapters up though, so this way I can come back to my dorm and type away. Sorry ya'll!!!  
  
*******  
  
"Did you honestly think that Jeff was lying?" Amy asked as I jumped on the stepper machine next to her.  
  
"Yeah, I did," I said shyly.  
  
"What'd you do when you realized Shane didn't tell you about the phone calls?"  
  
"I yelled at him. Told him that if he ever pulled a stunt like that again I was gone," I answered.  
  
"What'd he do?"  
  
"He apologized and I forgave him."  
  
"Casey, do you realize that this could have been your chance to get out of the relationship to be with Jeff?"  
  
"Maybe I don't wanna be with Jeff anymore. Did you think of that?" I exclaimed as I jumped off the machine and walked out of the gym.  
  
"Casey! Case!" she yelled after me as she followed me into the locker room. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."  
  
"I'm just sick of everyone telling me how I should live my life! I'm fuckin sick of it!" I yelled at her. She backed away in shock as I threw my towel in my bag before roughly lifting it on my shoulder. I stormed out of the locker room and jumped into my mustang, driving back home. "Why must everyone tell me I need to break up with Shane? Why does everyone need to stick their noses in my business? And most importantly, why the hell am I in love with Jeff?!"  
  
"Hey babe, how was the workout?" Shane asked as I stormed into the house.  
  
"Oh, just peachy! Cause everything is just peachy!" I yelled angrily.  
  
"Did something happen?" he asked cautiously.  
  
"Oh, just the fact that I went there!" I yelled. "UGH! I'm gonna go shower." I walked up the stairs mumbling to myself as Shane watched me.  
  
"This is why love her. She's like a box of chocolates, ya never know what you're gonna get," Shane said in his best forest gump accent.  
  
*******  
  
"I can't believe I'm doing this," I groaned as I looked at my pretty much naked body in the mirror.  
  
"What do you mean?" Trish asked as she walked up beside me, fluffing up her hair.  
  
"Trish, I'm in this stupid Diva's thong award show shit. Why?!" I exclaimed placing my hands on my bare hips.  
  
"Cause you're beautiful and guys love you," she replied seriously with a smile.  
  
"Look at me! I'm, ugh!" I said continuing to complain.  
  
"Oh be quiet! You look absolutely beautiful!" Torrie said as she walked up to the mirror.  
  
"Alright! Come on girls!!!" a tech yelled, cuing us for the line up. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time, wearing a lacy purple bra and black lacy boy shorts. I groaned as I took my place in line between Victoria and Amy.  
  
"I'm going to introduce tonite's three wonderful judges for this Diva spectacular. First we have Edge. Next we have Jeff Hardy. And last, but not least, Chris Jericho," King announced before Torrie's music went off. "And now the start of the show. First the ladies will be wearing their finest everyday underwear. First we have the lovely Torrie Wilson!" Torrie sauntered out there in all pink. She slipped off the robe that she wore and posed at the end of the runway. While I, nervously, shook out my body. Stacy was up after Torrie, next went Trish, and Victoria. Then it was my turn. "She does flips, jumps, and looks absolutely wild in the ring. Outside she's as innocent as can be because she's Mystic Angel!" I slowly walked out there, trying to push my nerves to the side. I did a pose at the end of the runway as Poison's "Fallen Angel" played. I licked my lips and turned, heading back up the runway. Once back there I took a deep breath and got into my next outfit.  
  
"Whoa," Amy said as I slid wings on my shoulders.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"You look hot! I'm telling you right now, if I swung that way, I'd be after you girl," she replied with a smile. I rolled my eyes at her as I turned around and craned my head around to look at the back of me. Making sure every thing was in it's right place. I wore a white satiny pair of bikinis with a solid white satiny bra. I placed a silver halo around my bun of bright blue hair and fluffed out my white wings. I nodded at myself and once again took my place in line.  
  
I heard Aerosmith's "Angel" begin to play as I sauntered out on the stage to nothing but cat calls and whistles from the men in the crowd. I bit on my lower lip as I walked down. "Next to strut her stuff in the Fantasy category, Mystic.......whoa.....ummm, Mystic Angel!" King said as he watched me walk. He leaned over to Adam and whisper, "She's definitely not as innocent as she looks."  
  
"I can't believe she's wearing that," Adam replied as I turned around to walk into the back to wait for the winner to be called.  
  
We all stood in our "Fantasy Wear" in a ling on the stage, smiling at the crowd. King cleared his throat as he stood off to the side a bit holding an envelope. "In third place, the very lovely, Torrie Wilson!" King announced. Torrie stepped out of line and nodded her head at the crowd. "And the runner up, if in case the winner can not perform her duties as the winner of the thong award, this beautiful girl will take her place. That girl is, Mystic Angel." A shocked expression formed on my face as Amy patted my back and I stepped up a bit. I waved at the crowd and gave them a huge smile as I stepped back. King picked up the Golden Thong award and there was a hush over the crowd. "And the winner of WWE's 2005 Golden Thong award is, Trish Stratus!" The crowd went absolutely wild as she was handed the award. Confetti, streamers, and balloons fell onto the stage as the judges were brought up. She walked around the stage showing off the award to the crowd as Amy picked up the stand it had been sitting on and walked up behind her, hitting Trish in the back. I rushed to Trish's side and helped her up. We both glared at Amy as she pointed her finger at Trish disapprovingly. Victoria walked up beside Amy and patted her on the back as Trish grimaced in pain. I helped her backstage where the cameras were shut off.  
  
"Another storyline with Victoria. I'm telling you, they really need to get some new material," Trish complained as we all pulled some clothes on.  
  
"I know how you feel. But at least this time it's the both of us against her and Amy. Instead of it just being a singles thing," I replied as I threw all my stuff in my bag. I pulled on Shane's green lantern t- shirt and threw the bag on my shoulder.  
  
"What's up with Jeff?" she blurted out before I walked out.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"I heard a rumor about him and I was wondering if you knew if it was true or not."  
  
"I don't know anything about Jeff. And I haven't heard any rumors. So I would suggest you ask him yourself," I said with a shrug.  
  
"I hear he's not going to sign the contract when it's up for review," she said quickly.  
  
"What?" I asked as I slowly turned back to her.  
  
"I heard that he's quitting. I heard that he's just going to do his music instead," she replied.  
  
"I really haven't heard anything about that," I said as I walked out. "Jeff's quitting? Why would he do that? I hope it's not because of me." I ran down the hall and burst into Amy's locker room. She looked up at me and smiled.  
  
"What's with the bursting through the door thing?" she asked.  
  
"Is Jeff quitting?" I asked.  
  
"Where'd you hear that?" she asked her smile fading completely.  
  
"Amy, is he quitting?"  
  
"Yeah, he's quitting."  
  
"Because of me. He's quitting because of me!" I yelled.  
  
"Casey, no, he's not quitting because of you. He's quitting because he doesn't love the business as much anymore and because his body can't handle it anymore. Not because of you."  
  
"I don't want him to quit," I said sadly.  
  
"None of us do, but we can't do any thing about it. He's made up his mind," Amy said with a sigh as she zipped up her bag. "It's just something we have to except."  
  
***********  
  
"Casey! We need you!" Shane-O yelled as he pounded on the Diva's locker room door.  
  
"What?!" I exclaimed as I opened it.  
  
"Lilian lost her voice. We need someone to sing the National Anthem. And you have a beautiful voice. We need you to sing," he said.  
  
"Shane, I don't sing that well," I said nervously.  
  
"Yes you do. You're on Jeff's entrance music for God sakes. Please. We need you," Shane pleaded.  
  
"What's you're father say about this? He's never heard me sing," I said crossing my arms.  
  
"He said that he thinks I have good judgment and to do what I think needs to be done. Casey, I choose you," Shane said.  
  
"Fine," I said giving in. "How long do I have to get ready?"  
  
"15 minutes?" he said.  
  
"Jesus Shane! Could you have cut it a LITTLE closer?" I said sarcastically.  
  
"Just hurry. Warm up your voice, change, do whatever you need to do," he said as he walked away. I shut the door and turned to face the Diva's in the room.  
  
"I'm singing the National Anthem tonite," I said nervously.  
  
"That's great Case!" Stacy said excitedly.  
  
"My voice isn't warmed up," I said frantically.  
  
"Just get dressed and we'll put some Christina on. That'll warm it right up," Trish smiled. I nodded at her as she put in the cd. I quickly changed into a pair of black baggy cargos and a cut up red muscle tee. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail as I sung along to the music.  
  
"Casey," Shane called. I sighed deeply as I waved to the others and walked out the door. "Ya ready?"  
  
"I hope so. Just promise me that you won't fire me if I suck," I said.  
  
"Nah, maybe just cut back your pay check," Shane joked. I shot him a look as he laughed. "Calm down. I was just kidding. You'll do great." He wrapped his arm around my waist and gave me a quick squeeze.  
  
"And to sing the National Anthem tonite, the WWE's very own, Mystic Angel!" I slowly walked out there, smiling and waving to the crowd as they cheered. I stood in the middle of the ring, holding the microphone tightly in my hands. I took a deep breath and began. It seemed to go by so quickly, because before I knew it, I was standing there with the crowd on their feet applauding. I smiled brightly as I handed off the mic and walked up the ramp.  
  
"Oh baby!" Shane yelled as he ran up to me and scooped me into his arms.  
  
"Was I okay?" I asked.  
  
"You sounded so awesome!" he exclaimed as he kissed me softly.  
  
"Really? You're not just saying that?" I asked nervously as he set me down on the floor.  
  
"Come on. We're gonna have production rewind that for you," he said taking my hand, pulling me along behind him. I stood in the production trailer and watched the tape of me singing. I smiled as I saw the crowd hopped to their feet. "Do you see how good you are?"  
  
"Thank you," I smiled as I reached up to kiss his cheek.  
  
************  
  
A/N: Sorry ya'll for the short chapter. Massive writer's block. I'll try and get another chapter up tomorrow. Assuming that my writer's block has ended. 


	11. Love

A/N: Okay, since I've got complete writer's block, I'm gonna skip right to the good stuff. I was gonna put a few chapters before it, but I seriously don't know what to put before it. So consider yourselves lucky. Cause here's the good chapter!  
  
*******  
  
"It's so beautiful out today," I said as I stepped into the in ground pool behind Shane's house. He looked over at me from the lawn chair that was set on the deck and lowered his sunglasses.  
  
"Shake that ass! Better watch yourself!" Shane sang as I wiggled my ass for him. "Ya know, we are the only one's here and I mean I do love that bikini on you, seriously I do, but."  
  
"But what?" I asked placing my hands on my bare hips as he stood and walked over to me.  
  
"But you'd look better with it off. We could do a little skinny dipping. Ya know?" Shane said giving me a wink as he crouched down to me.  
  
"I know what you're saying but, I don't think so," I smiled as I wrapped my arms around his neck and yanked him into the pool. His sunglasses floated off towards the other end as he came up gasping for air. I stood there laughing at him as he wiped his eyes frantically.  
  
"I don't believe you did that!" he exclaimed as he glared at me.  
  
"Oh come on. Like you wouldn't have done the same to me," I said with a pout.  
  
"I wouldn't have. Cause I'm not mean, unlike you!" he exclaimed. My happiness faded as I looked deep into his eyes. I tilted my head in confusion as he quickly picked me up in his arms and walked me into the deep are where he threw me in. He stood laughing as I slowly came to the top.  
  
"You fuckin asshole! I thought you were seriously upset!" I spat as I spit out water that had gone in my mouth.  
  
"Yeah, I'd be upset about that. Please! I get thrown around a ring for a living. Getting thrown in the pool is nothing!" he laughed. He turned his back to me and I instantly jumped on him, wrapping my legs and arms around him tightly. I put all my weight into pulling him back under the water with me. I let him go and swam up to the top where I took a deep breath and looked around for him.  
  
"Shane?!" I screamed in panic when I couldn't see him. All of a sudden my legs were being tugged at and I was pulled under the water. I opened my eyes slightly to see Shane giving me a big grin as he pulled me up with him. I smoothed back my hair and slapped the water at him, splashing it in his face.  
  
"I love you baby," he smiled as he wrapped his arms around me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me into his wet body. I kissed him deeply as he put his hands through my hair. I felt him untie my top and felt his hands rub my back.  
  
"Well that was a different experience," I said as we wrapped each other's naked body in towels.  
  
"We'll have to grab out suits later," Shane laughed as he looked at them floating on top of the water. I shook my head at him as we slowly walked into the house.  
  
*********  
  
"Where are we going?" I asked as I looked out the window of the car trying to figure out where we were. We had been driving for about 2 hours and he just kept smiling as he stared at the road. "Shane! Where the hell are we goin?"  
  
"You'll see," he smiled as we pulled into the park parking lot we had visited on our first date. We both got out of the car and he grabbed my hand. Without a word he pulled me towards the exact location of our date. There sitting on the hill was a blanket, picnic basket, and champagne.  
  
"Shane, what's all this?" I asked.  
  
"It's been 3 years exactly since our first date. I wanted to recreate it," he smiled as we sat down.  
  
"How though?" I asked.  
  
"My sister helped. She got everything here and stuff like that," he answered with a smile. "Are you happy?"  
  
"Oh Shane, I'm VERY happy," I smiled excitedly as I kissed him softly. He opened up the basket and pulled out a box of popcorn chicken, just like on the first date. "This is amazing and very romantic!"  
  
"I'm glad you like it," he smiled as we began to eat. Everything was the same as that nite. Right down to the chocolate covered strawberries. Everything was going great until he reached deeply into the basket. "Casey, I wanted this nite to be special because I have an important question. We've been living together for nine months now and dating for almost three years. I love you more than I ever thought possible. I think we're both ready for this commitment now. Casey, will you please marry me?"  
  
I smiled at him and immediately felt the silver metal object that sat on my left ring finger. The claddah ring that Jeff had given me. I closed my eyes tightly and took a deep breath, rubbing the ring between my fingers, as the words slipped out of my mouth easily, shocking me as I said them. "No." I slowly opened my eyes and looked at him as his face took on a ghostly white color.  
  
"Why?" he choked out. "You told me you were almost ready. I thought by now you'd say yes. What do I have to do? Why do you keep turning me down?"  
  
"I can't marry you Shane," I said softly. "This was all so great. And I'm such a bitch. You don't deserve to have someone like me."  
  
"What are you saying?!" Shane exclaimed.  
  
"Shane, I love you. I do. But I'm not IN love with you," I cried as tears slowly slipped down my cheeks.  
  
"What? I don't understand."  
  
"This is why I can't marry you," I cried as I held out my left hand. He looked down at the ring and shook his head.  
  
"Casey, none of this makes any sense. It's a stupid ring!" Shane yelled.  
  
"I'm in love with him. I thought I could go on with you and lose the feelings that I feel for him, but I can't. I love him."  
  
"You love who?!" Shane yelled angrily.  
  
"I love Jeff," I cried as I stood up. Shane watched me as his face turned a bright red color.  
  
"No, no Case. I will not lose you to him!" he yelled.  
  
"I can't Shane. Goodbye Shane," I yelled as I began to run away from him.  
  
"CASEY!! NO!!!! COME BACK HERE!!!" I heard Shane yell after me. I couldn't stop. I continued running until I was on the back roads of Cameron. I knew where I had to go. And I was going there in a hurry. I smiled through my tears as I continued to cry. They were mixed tears of happiness and sadness. I ran up the steps of his house and stood in front of the door. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I heard him walk through the house and moments later he was standing in the doorway staring at me.  
  
"Casey, what are you doing here?" he asked as I smiled at him.  
  
"I love you," I replied.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Shane asked me to marry him. And I love you," I repeated.  
  
"I don't understand," he said slowly.  
  
"I told him no. I told him I wasn't in love with him. Jeff, I love you!" I laughed. A small smile grew on his face but it was still contorted in confusion. I stepped up closer to him and put my hands on the sides of his face, bringing it down to my level. "I love you Jeffrey Nero Hardy!" I placed my lips on his gently at first, but he pushed it into a more passionate kiss as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his body.  
  
He slowly pulled away from me and smiled. "So does this mean you're mine?" he asked as he pulled me into his living room.  
  
"If you still want me," I replied.  
  
"Of course I still want you! God Case! Do you know how long I've wanted you to tell me this?!" he exclaimed in excitement as he hugged me tightly. "God, it's so good to have you back in my arms."  
  
"Wait, Jeff. Um, I think maybe we should start things off slowly," I said as we pulled away.  
  
"Start things off slowly!? I'm ready to marry you right now! Just so I know you'll always be mine!" he laughed.  
  
"Oh Jeff, don't say that. Cause if and when you do ask that, I'll be thinking you just want to marry me because you're afraid of losing me and nothing more."  
  
"I was joking."  
  
"Were you?"  
  
"Okay, so maybe I was half joking. But I don't know how slow I can take it with you," he said.  
  
"Let's just go on a few dates, hang out, things like that. Then move onto bigger and better things later," I smiled.  
  
"If that's what you want, than fine," he smiled. "What happened anyways?"  
  
"Alright, Shane takes me out to the park and it was a recreation of our first date. He pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him and I just slipped and said no. And realized that I really meant to say no. I told him that I loved him but I was IN love with you and blah blah blah. So, here I am," I explained.  
  
"What about your stuff at his house? What are you gonna do? Move back in to Dad's?" he asked.  
  
"I'm gonna have to. I think I may ask Shannon and Matt to get my stuff though. I don't think I can bear to go over there to move out. I may never actually move out if I do!" I joked.  
  
"Come on," he smiled as he took my hand.  
  
"Where are we going?" I asked as we walked out the door with Liger running behind us.  
  
"We are goin to tell Matt and Amy the news!" he said as he began to run towards their house. I laughed as I ran behind him. We ran up the steps and into the house. We burst into the living room holding hands and smiling as Matt looked up from the computer and Amy looked at us before turning the radio off.  
  
"Whoa, what's goin on here? Did we just slip into some parallel universe?" Matt asked as he stood and sat down next to Amy on the couch.  
  
"You guys, I got her!" Jeff said as he wrapped his arm around my waist.  
  
"What do you mean you got her?" Amy asked curiously.  
  
"I told Shane I couldn't marry him. I'm not his girlfriend anymore. I'm with Jeff now," I smiled. Amy frowned at us and shook her head.  
  
"Aren't you guys happy?" Jeff asked as his smile faded.  
  
"What the hell happened? Shane was purposing to you tonite!" Matt exclaimed.  
  
"I told him no. That I wasn't IN love with and that I loved Jeff," I explained.  
  
"Why?" Amy asked.  
  
"Because it was the truth. You were the one who told me back in October that if I truly loved Jeff I shouldn't be with Shane. And now you're telling me I shouldn't have done what I did?!" I yelled angrily.  
  
"It's just this is all so sudden!" Matt said.  
  
"I know, but I couldn't marry him knowing that I love Jeff. I went on too long as it was with all this shit," I said.  
  
"Why aren't you guys happy for us?" Jeff asked.  
  
"We are Jeff, really. We just don't want you two to rush into anything," Amy said.  
  
"We're not. We're gonna go slow. I'm not gonna marry him tomorrow or anything!" I laughed.  
  
"Well, um, I guess congratulations," Amy said as she stood to give us each a hug.  
  
"Thanks," Jeff smiled.  
  
"Bout damn time?" Matt questioned.  
  
"Certainly is bro," Jeff replied.  
  
"Where are you gonna stay tonite? Here?" Amy asked.  
  
"With me!" Jeff exclaimed.  
  
"Here, with Jeff," I smiled. "If that's alright."  
  
"Yeah, of course," Matt said.  
  
"Why not just stay at my house?" Jeff asked.  
  
"We're taking things slow, remember?" I laughed as we headed upstairs.  
  
"Right, slow," Jeff smiled.  
  
"I mean it Jeff."  
  
"I know. Let's get some sleep. We'll tell Dad, Shannon, and Crystal tomorrow," Jeff said as we walked into my room. I found some old shorts and a t-shirt and changed into them while Jeff stripped down to his boxers. He climbed into the bed and held me tightly. "I missed you so much." He kissed my cheek as I snuggled into his body.  
  
"I missed you too. I don't know how I stayed away from you for this long," I smiled as I took in his scent. "What is that?"  
  
"What's what?" he asked.  
  
"Your cologne."  
  
"Sorry, can't tell you."  
  
"Why not?! Please?!"  
  
"Nope, can't. It's a secrete. I don't want everyone stealing my mixture of cologne," he laughed.  
  
"Fine, be an ass!" I laughed.  
  
"Goodnite, babe."  
  
"Goodnite, Jeff." 


	12. Happy

I woke up the next morning to the sun shining through the open window as a breeze blew in. I yawned and looked as I saw Jeff leaning on the windowsill. I sat up and smiled as he turned around, leaning against the window. "Good morning babes," he said as he walked towards the bed.  
  
"Morning," I smiled as he walked towards the bed. He leaned down and kissed me softly. "So, we go tell the rest of the world we're together today?"  
  
"Yeah, guess so. Unless you don't want to," Jeff said as he sat next to me, rubbing my leg.  
  
"No, I want to," I smiled as I reached out to touch his check. He smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling it down to his lips where he kissed it. I let out a quiet giggle as he let it go. He stood and grabbed his clothes before heading to the door.  
  
"I'm gonna go home and change. Come over whenever you're ready?" he question. I nodded and flopped back down in the bed as soon as he left.  
  
I let out a deep sigh and smiled to myself. 'He's the one. He's always been the one. I can't believe I'm finally with him!' I thought to myself as I continued to lie there. I let out a squeal of excitement into the blankets.  
  
"What are you doing about Shane?" Amy asked as she leaned against the frame of my door. I sat up and rolled my eyes at her. I threw off the covers, in search for clothes to change into. "Casey!" She slammed the door shut behind her as she stood with her arms crossed impatiently.  
  
"What?! Jesus Ames!" I yelled as I threw a tank top on the bed.  
  
"What are you gonna do about Shane?" she repeated angrily.  
  
"What do you want me to do? Cause right now I'm planning on nothing!" I yelled.  
  
"Well let's see Case, you only fuckin live with the guy!" she yelled.  
  
"I'm moving back into Dad's house today," I answered calmly as I looked for shorts.  
  
"Jesus Case, you all of sudden tell him you're in love with his friend and run out on him?!"  
  
"Fuck Amy! What would you like me to do, huh? Cause I mean you obviously know what's best for me."  
  
"Well you could give him some sort of explanation!"  
  
"Fine! I'll do just that cause you obviously fuckin run my life now!" I screamed throwing my arms in the air.  
  
"I obviously don't run your fuckin life!" she screamed as I changed. "Because if I did, you would have fuckin told him you didn't love him a long time ago!"  
  
I slipped my feet into a pair of flip-flops as I screamed, "I do love him! That's why this took so fuckin long!" I stormed past her as tears streamed down my face.  
  
"Casey?" Matt asked as I ran past him out the door.  
  
I trudged along down the dirt road in the bright hot North Carolina sun towards Jeff's. He was walking towards me in a matching Tar Heel's jersey and shorts. He ran to me when he saw me crying. He wrapped me in his arms and put his chin on my head.  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked softly.  
  
"I can't fuckin do anything right, Jeff. I fucked up once again! My whole life is a fuck up!" I cried into his chest.  
  
"What makes you think that?" he asked in a concern tone.  
  
"Amy just fuckin went off on me about everything! She wanted me to do all this along time ago and then when I do finally do it, it was wrong! My whole life is one big fuck up!" I cried angrily.  
  
"Listen to me Case. You did NOT fuck up! No matter what Amy said, you didn't fuck up. You did what you had to do and followed your heart. How can that be wrong?"  
  
"She's pissed at me for something she always wanted me to do. I must have don it wrong somehow!"  
  
"Casey, are you happy with your decision?" he asked as he pulled away from me.  
  
I looked into his eyes, smiled, and without hesitation said, "Of course I'm happy."  
  
He smiled at me as he placed my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. "Then the fuck with Amy. As long as you're happy then it shouldn't matter."  
  
"Are you happy?" I asked. He laughed as he picked me up in his arms and sung me around.  
  
"I've got you in my arms! How could I not be happy?!" He placed me back on the ground and wiped my cheeks with his thumbs gently. "Shannon's?"  
  
"Shannon's," I nodded as we walked hand in hand to his house. We jumped in the vette and headed for Shannon's.  
  
.......  
  
"Umm, Shannon, Jeff and Case are here," Crystal announced looking out the living room window.  
  
"Don't you mean Case and Shane?" Shannon smiled.  
  
"No, I mean Jeff and Case," she said as we walked in the house together.  
  
"Holy shit! What's wrong?!" Shannon panicked as we walked into the living room.  
  
"Nothing's wrong," Jeff and I chorused.  
  
"Are you two friends again?" Crystal asked with hope in her voice.  
  
"No," I said flatly.  
  
"Then what's goin on?" Shannon asked.  
  
"We're together," Jeff smiled as he brought my hand up to his soft lips.  
  
"Together? As in a couple?" Shannon asked with both his eyebrows raised.  
  
"Yeah, Shan," I chuckled.  
  
"Wow, that's quite the announcement guys," Crystal smiled.  
  
"Jesus, you guys aren't happy for us either!" Jeff exclaimed throwing his hands in the air.  
  
"No, Jeff, you misunderstand. We're very happy for the two of you. It's just kind of a shock. That's all," Shannon said.  
  
"We love you guys so of course we're happy for ya. I mean we always knew we'd hear this from the two of you," Crystal added as she stood to hug us. "Why wouldn't you think we'd be happy for ya's?"  
  
"Matt and Amy aren't too pleased," I answered sitting on the couch with Jeff. "Mostly Ames."  
  
"Amy was always behind the two of you being together. Why would she all of a sudden hate the idea?" Shannon asked as Crystal carefully sat on his lap. I eyed them curiously, noticing the loose clothing on her body. Shannon rubbed her stomach softly as she smiled.  
  
"Oh who the hell knows?" Jeff replied wrapping his arm around me tightly as I smiled.  
  
"Do the two of you have something you wanna reveal to us?" I questioned.  
  
"What do you mean?" Crystal smiled as she quickly stood.  
  
"What's goin on?" I asked. "Your smile is different and you have this glow around you."  
  
She let out a deep sigh as she looked at Shannon. Shannon gave her a nod and smiled. "We also have an announcement," Crystal started as she sat back down on Shannon's lap.  
  
"Crystal and I are four months pregnant," Shannon finished proudly.  
  
"That's great!" Jeff exclaimed with a large smile.  
  
"Congratulations!" I smiled.  
  
"Thanks," Crystal blushed.  
  
"What's with people lately? Alannah and Adam just had a baby boy last month!" I laughed.  
  
"Why'd you guys keep it secrete?" Jeff asked.  
  
"They say the first few months are the most critical so we didn't wanna tell people and have something go wrong," Crystal explained.  
  
"Dude, I can't believe you kept this from me this long!" Jeff laughed.  
  
"Believe me when I say it was one of the hardest things I've ever done!" Shannon replied with a laugh.  
  
"Shannon, could you do me a favor today?" I asked sweetly.  
  
"Oh no. The last time you gave me that look, you had me pour a cooler full of ice into Paul's shower!" Shannon exclaimed.  
  
"That was the two of you?!" Jeff laughed as I nodded. "Jesus, he was threatening anyone who had a water bottle!"  
  
"I know," Shannon and I smiled devilishly.  
  
"Anyways, what's the favor?" Shannon asked.  
  
"Could you help Matt move me out of Shane's?" I asked.  
  
"Why can't you go?" he asked.  
  
"I'm afraid I may changed my mind about this whole deal," I replied.  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure, I can do that," Shannon said.  
  
"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed happily.  
  
"Well, since there were two good announcements today, why don't we all go to lunch for like a double date?" Crystal suggested.  
  
"Sorry, but we can't. We have plans today," Jeff said as we stood.  
  
"We do?" I questioned as I looked up at him.  
  
"Yeah, we do," he laughed in response.  
  
"Oh! Case, I wanna show you what we've done for the baby's room so far," Crystal said excitedly. I nodded with a smile as she grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs with her.  
  
"You look happy," Shannon smiled as they watched us go up stairs.  
  
"I am Shan. I haven't smiled like this for so long," Jeff responded.  
  
"I know. I'm happy for you," Shan said.  
  
"Thanks, me too."  
  
"So, what do you have planned today?"  
  
"Ya know the cliffs we all used to go to?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, I'm taking her there. Do some cliff jumping, swimming, and just hang out together. It's gonna be our first date," Jeff explained.  
  
"Isn't that where you took Beth?" Shannon asked curiously.  
  
"I tried to, but when she heard I wanted to go cliff jumping she refused to go," Jeff sighed.  
  
"And you don't think Casey will?" Shan asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"I know she won't," Jeff smiled. "She's got that extreme blood in her like we do."  
  
"Jeff be careful man," Shannon said patting Jeff on the shoulder.  
  
"Ready to go babe?" Jeff asked smiling as Crystal and I walked towards them. I walked into his arms and hugged him tightly as Shannon wrapped his arm around Crystal's waist, smiling at the two of us.  
  
.......  
  
"Matt, Shannon, what are the two of you doing here?" Shane asked.  
  
"Umm......." Matt sighed.  
  
"Case asked us if we'd move her back into Gil's house," Shannon said softly.  
  
"Oh, yeah, I figured that," Shane sighed sadly. "I packed up most of her stuff."  
  
"I'm sorry man," Matt said.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Shane replied scratching the back of his head, leading them into the living room.  
  
"How ya doin?" Shannon asked.  
  
"I'm upset, but um, what can I do? I jest wasn't man enough for her, I guess," Shane shrugged. "Why didn't she come?"  
  
"She was afraid she'd change her mind and regret it," Matt answered as they began to move out boxes.  
  
"Could you tell her I'll always love her and that all I want to do is talk to her?" Shane requested.  
  
"Of course!" Matt exclaimed as he closed the gate on Dad's pick-up.  
  
"Alright, where's Luna?" Shannon asked wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.  
  
"Out back. Probably in the pool," Shane replied giving off a half- hearted smile.  
  
"Luna!" Matt called as she ran from the back of the house, dripping with water. She jumped in the truck and waited for Matt and Shannon.  
  
"Is she happy?" Shane asked starring at the ground.  
  
"Yeah, she is very," Shannon answered.  
  
"Good, that's all I want for her," he smiled. "Did she go right to Jeff?" They nodded as he let out a sigh. "And is he happy?"  
  
"I haven't seen him this happy in a long time," Matt answered. 


	13. Uncomfortable

A/N: Plug time! Lol This time I'm plugging Linkin Park's new cd. I just got it and it sounds so totally awesome! I suggest ya'll go out and get it. And to all you Hardy Boyz fans out there, get Exist 2 Inspire. It's so totally excellent. I absolutely love it! My Shaney from the block has a mean streak! Lol And Jeff is just the sweetest ever. They made me cry when they talked about their mother. It's amazing. When I became a fan of theirs' I knew I had SOME things in common with Jeff. But after reading this book I realized that we have A LOT of things in common. I can honestly say that if I had known them growing up, I probably would have been best friends with him just because of our similarities. And then there's Matt, he made me laugh so hard! He was a moron as a kid! Lol And on a side note, I love Shannon's new name for his fans. I can now say proudly that I'm a MooreOn! Lol He's such a fuckin cutie!!! Lol Dude, just a thought, I should be getting paid for as many times as I have plugged someone's stuff. Like Manic Panic, Linkin Park, Otep, etc. Do ya'll know how damn rich I'd be?! Anyways, onto the next chapter of Without You!  
  
*******************************  
  
"Killer, hey!" Chris greeted as I walked down the hall of the arena, practically skipping, with a large smile on my face. "Well, you sure as hell are happy."  
  
"You bet I am!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Did Shane purpose?" he asked happily.  
  
"Um, yeah, but it's not........."  
  
"Well, show me the ring!" Chris exclaimed interrupting me.  
  
"Chris there's no ring."  
  
"The loser didn't give you a ring?! I'm gonna have to have a word with him!" Chris laughed as he rubbed my shoulder.  
  
"No, he got me a ring, I just didn't take it," I replied shyly.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I got us an appointment to talk with Shane and Vince, baby," Jeff smiled as he walked up to us placing a light kiss on my cheek. "Oh hey Chris."  
  
"Umm, yeah, Casey, what's goin on here?" Chris asked.  
  
"I'm not with Shane anymore," I answered softly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Shane did ask me to marry him this weekend, but I turned him down. I realized a while ago that I wasn't in love with him and I couldn't marry him knowing this," I explained.  
  
"So where does Hardy fit in?" Chris asked crossing his large arms.  
  
"I'm in love with him,' I replied as I felt my face glow.  
  
"You are in love with him," Chris nodded with a small grin on his face. "Congrats to you both."  
  
"Thanks man," Jeff smiled shaking Chris's hand. Chris nodded and patted my left shoulder causing me to wince.  
  
"Whoa, you alright there?" Chris asked. I laughed as I carefully pulled up my sleeve to reveal a white gauze pad. I untapped the pad and pulled it up to show him a huge gash on my shoulder. "Jesus, what the hell happened?"  
  
"Oh my God! It was totally awesome!" I exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"THAT was totally awesome?!" Chris laughed.  
  
"Jeff took me to these massively awesome cliffs and we went cliff jumping!" I said.  
  
"And you got that how?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I jumped off one of the cliffs and when I came back up I slashed my shoulder on a rock. It's really no biggie," I laughed. "I had so much fun!"  
  
"I'm glad to hear that," Chris laughed.  
  
"Come on Case, got to go to our meeting," Jeff said as he slipped his arm around my waist. I waved at Chris as he smiled at us.  
  
************************************  
  
"Well, I'm glad to see that the two of you are friends again," Vince said as we walked into a conference room.  
  
"Actually we're together now. That's why we're here," Jeff stated.  
  
"Alright, what's up?" Shane asked sitting on the corner of a table.  
  
"We want to start a storyline with each other again," I answered.  
  
"How about starting one tonite?" Vince asked.  
  
"Tonite?" we asked.  
  
"Yeah, I have a perfect idea," Shane smiled.  
  
"Alright," Jeff smiled back as he held onto my waist.  
  
"Well, you have a match against Jericho tonite and since Mystic Angel is his valet, you'll have her turn on him. Instead of walking out with Chris, you'll walk out as Jeff's mysterious new girlfriend. You'll be wearing a black cloak and then attack Jericho with a chair while he has Jeff in the walls. You'll throw the cloak in Jericho's face and walk into Jeff's arms," Shane explained.  
  
"Great!" I said excitedly.  
  
"We really appreciate this," Jeff said.  
  
"Not a problem. You're our two most popular superstars. We're happy to make you happy," Vince smiled with a nod of his head. "Casey, you better head off to wardrobe to get that cloak."  
  
"Right. Thank you again. This is great of you guys," I smiled as Jeff intertwined his fingers with mine and we walked down the hall.  
  
"I'm gonna go get dressed and shit. I'll see you a little later?" he asked as we stopped in front of his locker room.  
  
"Yep. Lata baby," I replied as I reached up to kiss his soft lips. A chill ran down my spin and I smiled at him before walking away.  
  
"I saw that kiddo," I heard Jay's voice.  
  
"That's great Jay. What would you like from me? A cookie?" I joked.  
  
"Actually I am quite hungry," he teased. I rolled my eyes and smiled. "What's up with the kiss?"  
  
"We're together," I answered dreamily.  
  
"I knew it would happen eventually!" he exclaimed as he picked me up off the floor and swung me around. I laughed at him as he set me down. "I'm happy for you."  
  
"Thank you," I chirped. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta get to wardrobe now."  
  
"I'll see ya later Case," he smiled. I waved at him as I continued to walk down the hall. I stopped suddenly when his voice entered my brain. His sweet, soft, southern voice was unmistakable. I began to shake nervously and closed my eyes tightly. I slowly opened them and saw him standing in front of me talking to Rob about one of the newest comics. I swallowed hard and continued to walk by, hoping he wouldn't see me.  
  
"Casey!" I heard him yell. 'Busted,' I thought as I stopped. I put my arms over my chest and turned slowly.  
  
"Hey," I said shyly as I looked anyplace but at him.  
  
"We really need to talk," he said.  
  
"I know," I said softly as I felt tears prick the back of my eyes.  
  
"I um, we uh, I," he sighed.  
  
"Shane, I know we need to talk, I just don't know what to say," I replied looking down at my feet.  
  
"Casey, what we need to talk about, will just come to us. Trust me. Do you have time now?" he asked.  
  
"I'm actually goin to wardrobe. I have a storyline with Jeff," I replied.  
  
"Oh, I, uh, I see," Shane replied uncomfortably.  
  
"Maybe later?" I asked as I finally got the courage to look up at him.  
  
"Yeah, later," he answered softly as I slowly turned back around and continued to walk.  
  
********************  
  
"Jeff explained the storyline to me," Amy said as I walked into the Diva's locker room. She looked at my pale face as I instantly burst into tears. "Oh my God. What happened? You look as if you've just seen a ghost honey."  
  
"I feel like I did," I cried as she led me to the bench. I rested my head on her shoulder and cried. "I saw him Amy. I talked to him. I didn't think it would be this hard."  
  
"Wait, who'd you see and talk to?" she asked.  
  
"Shane," I replied.  
  
"Oh, wow, um, what happened?" she asked.  
  
"He told me that we need to talk at some point and shit like that," I answered.  
  
"And........."  
  
"And I agreed. God, Amy, it was so uncomfortable. I've never ever felt so weird around him before," I said.  
  
"Things will get better sweetie," she comforted me.  
  
"You really think so?" I asked as I looked up at her, my eyes puffy and red.  
  
"Yeah, I do. And I want to apologize for how I treated you and Jeff. I really am happy for you guys. You gotta know that, right?" she said.  
  
"Yeah I know. You were just looking out for Shane," I said.  
  
"I was also looking out for you. You are seriously like the sister I never had," she smiled.  
  
"I love ya, Ames," I said as we wrapped our arms around each other in a hug.  
  
"Holy shit, I just heard the craziest news ever!" Trish announced as she rushed into the locker room.  
  
"And that would be what?" I asked as I looked up at her, wiping my cheeks.  
  
"That you broke up with Shane," she exclaimed placing her hands on her hips.  
  
"Gees, word gets around fast," I replied with a shrug.  
  
"You mean it's true?!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Um, yeah," I said shyly.  
  
"Why the fuck didn't you call me?!" she yelled.  
  
"I've just been caught up with my boyfriend," I answered casually.  
  
"Whoa, wait, boyfriend?! Already?!"  
  
"Yes," I laughed.  
  
"What the hell is goin on around here?!" she asked with an exasperated sigh as she slammed herself onto a chair.  
  
I laughed at her as I replied, "I finally told him that I'm in love with Jeff."  
  
"No shit?" she asked sounding a bit shocked.  
  
"No shit," I shook my head.  
  
"Wow, so you're with Jeff now?" she asked raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Yeah, I'm with Jeff," I replied dreamily.  
  
"Awe," she smiled.  
  
"Ya know, every time you say his name you get this look on your face," Amy laughed.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"A look of complete and totally love. You just look so happy and content," Amy smiled.  
  
"That's how I feel. I thought Shane was the only one who could make me feel this way," I smiled as I began to change.  
  
"What's with the cloak?" Trish asked as she lifted it off the bench.  
  
"Part of her new storyline," Amy nodded.  
  
"Ooooooh, with Jeff?" she smiled.  
  
"Uh-huh. They're getting back together," Amy responded.  
  
"Bout damn time!" Nora laughed as she walked out of the back.  
  
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" I chuckled.  
  
"Congratulations," Nora said as she walked over to hug me.  
  
"Thanks," I blushed in reply.  
  
**********************  
  
"Now entering the ring, from Cameron, North Carolina. Weighing in at 218 lbs, JEFF HARDY!" I adjusted the hood over my face and lowered my head as we walked hand in hand to the ring. Jeff slid into the ring and jumped on the posts as I walked around it, eyeing Jericho carefully.  
  
"Who's that in the cloak with Jeff Hardy?" King asked. "And where's my favorite Diva, Mystic Angel?! Shouldn't she be with Jericho?!"  
  
"I really can't tell you King. All I know is that we've got a new girl out here with Jeff. And it looks like they just maybe together," JR said as the match started. I continued to walk around the ring as the match continued. I saw Jericho pull Jeff into the walls slowly and ran to a chair. I folded it up and carefully climbed into the ring, making sure my cloak didn't reveal who I was before it was time.  
  
"Whoa, what the hell is that girl doing with the chair in the ring?!" King exclaimed as I walked up behind Jericho. I pulled the chair back just as Jeff's hand hovered over the mat to tap. I swung at Jericho's back and he quickly fell to the mat. I helped Jeff to his feet and smiled as I tore the cloak off to reveal an old Team Extreme baby doll tee from when Jeff and I had first began to tag together. I laughed as I took Jeff's hand and threw the cloak down at Jericho. He slowly sat up, rubbing his back and held the cloak in his hands. He glared up at me as I placed a passionate kiss on Jeff's mouth, causing the arena to erupt in cheers. Jeff and I walked up the ramp backwards, his arm around my waist tightly.  
  
"I can't believe what I just saw! Angel just turned against her partner of 2 months, Chris Jericho!" JR said as we disappeared to the back.  
  
"And it looks like she's back with ex-boyfriend and ex-partner Jeff Hardy! Does this mean Team Extreme is back?!" King exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"I guess we'll find out eventually. Only time will tell!" JR said.  
  
"Well, that was an unexpected kiss," Jeff smiled as we held hands, walking down the hall together.  
  
"Yeah, just thought I'd adlib a bit," I smiled.  
  
"Amy told me that you had a run in with Shane on your way to wardrobe. Is everything okay?" he asked concernedly.  
  
"Yeah, everything's fine. I think I'm gonna go by his room tonite though," I said softly.  
  
"Oh?" Jeff questioned with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Yeah, we need to talk. I kinda owe this to him. Plus I have to give him back his Green Lantern shirt," I replied.  
  
"Okay. I can understand that," Jeff said as we stopped in front of the Diva's locker room. "I'll meet you at the car in 10 minutes?"  
  
"Yeah, sounds good," I smiled as he bent down to kiss my cheek. I watched him walk away before I entered the Diva's locker to change and gather my gear. 


	14. Strong

A/N: Thank you to everyone. Thanks for all the replies and get well wishes. They really mean a lot to me. I realized that I can't fix this problem. Nothing can fix this problem. The only thing I can do is go on like normal with a pretend smile on my face and be happy like everyone expects me to be. Hiding my emotions is the best and only thing I can do. But anyways, here's the next chapter. Bet this was un-expected.  
  
***************************  
  
I stood outside Shane's hotel room, holding his t-shirt tightly in my hand. Every once in awhile I would bring it up to my face and smell the cool water cologne that remained on there. I sighed as I contemplated just turning around and running back into the safety and comfort of Jeff's arms. But I was strong, I knocked on the door lightly. Within seconds he was standing in the door way starring at me.  
  
"Hi," he said softly, hurt evident in his voice.  
  
"Hey," I replied as I looked up into his soft brown eyes.  
  
"Well, um, come in," he said as he moved aside, allowing me entrance into his room. He sat on the edge of his bed and I opted for one of the plush hotel rooms. "You don't have to sit over there."  
  
"I feel more comfortable," I replied as he ran his hand through his thick dark hair.  
  
"Listen, Case, I love you. I love you so much," he started.  
  
"I know and I'm sorry for how I treated you," I said.  
  
"No, don't be. You followed your heart. I'm glad you told me the truth. My question is, how long did you feel that way?" he asked thoughtfully.  
  
"Shane, I don't wanna answer that. I do love you. I really do," I replied.  
  
"Casey, please just answer my question," he requested.  
  
"I don't really know. For quite awhile now. I really realized it Halloween nite," I answered.  
  
"Why then? That's when you told me you were almost ready to take the big step," he said.  
  
"Something happened at Jeff's when I went over there," I sighed.  
  
"I know I'm gonna wish I hadn't asked, but what?"  
  
"He got very upset when I told him the news. He started asking me about the cds he made me when I moved into Dad's house. I had listened to all but one. This one revealed all his feelings for me. Shane, I was a mess. I couldn't even listen to the whole thing. I ran out into the rain, back to his house and yelled at him. I told him that I didn't understand why he had to do this all now and shit like that. And then he kissed me. That's when I knew for sure that I was in love with him. That kiss was so, electric. I tried to pull away but I couldn't. I truly couldn't. I thought that if I avoided him at all costs things would be better and I'd lose these feelings for him. I love you Shane. I love you so much, but I'm not in love with you," I cried as tears began to stream down my face.  
  
"Why'd you wait so long to tell me?"  
  
"I thought that the feelings for you would increase. But when you asked me to marry you again, I knew I couldn't go on anymore without him. I had to get him back. I'm so sorry."  
  
"I knew deep in the back of my mind that I wouldn't be able to keep you. I knew that you really loved him more than me. I saw that from the day that I first really met you. There was just connection that I felt between the two of you. And then whenever you had a problem, you went to him and hardly ever went to me. I just didn't want to believe it. I thought I could make you love me like you loved him. I saw the happiness in your eyes every time you spoke or saw him. I saw the joy on you face when you two would kiss on tv. And then that damn cd that he gave you for Christmas. That just proved it all."  
  
"What?" I asked confused.  
  
"Oh, I'm definitely not going over all that again," he replied.  
  
"No, what about the cd?"  
  
"Oh, um, cd?"  
  
"You listened to the cd?"  
  
"Umm, well, you played it on the stereo before."  
  
"No, Shane, I didn't. I always kept it to myself."  
  
"Fine! Yes I listened to it!"  
  
"When?!" I exclaimed suddenly feeling enraged.  
  
"Christmas nite," he replied sheepishly.  
  
"You did something with it, didn't you?!"  
  
"Yes! I threw it away! It threatened our relationship! I couldn't have the threat! I had to get rid of it, so I did!"  
  
"You had no fuckin right to do that!"  
  
"I know, and I apologize. I know it was wrong. I did it all for us though."  
  
"You fuckin lied to me."  
  
"Yeah, well, so did you!" he shot back in anger. I leaned back in the chair in shock and shook my head.  
  
"I never lied to you!" I screamed.  
  
"You did the moment you told me you loved me!"  
  
"That wasn't a fuckin lie! It's the truth! I do love you!"  
  
"I didn't want to get into a fight over this. I wanted to try and make things right. Make closure!"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Anyways, I'm sorry for all that shit that I did to try to keep Jeff away from you."  
  
"What shit? What the hell else did you do?!"  
  
"I convinced Mindy to hit on Jeff," he replied.  
  
"That was you?!" I screamed angrily.  
  
"Yeah, I did that."  
  
"Shane, I was gonna tell Jeff that I loved him that nite when she was making out with him in the hall!" I yelled. "This would have all happened sooner!"  
  
"I'm fuckin sorry! I wanted him out of our lives!"  
  
"Jesus Shane! I can't believe you did all this shit," I said shaking my head.  
  
"Have you...........have you slept with him?" Shane asked lowering his head.  
  
"What? Of course not! Shane, I've been with him for 3 nites. Do you honestly think that I was gonna sleep with him the first fuckin nite?! Jesus Shane, give me some credit!"  
  
"I'm sorry! I thought that you might have. Have you told him you loved him?"  
  
"Just the first nite. We're trying to take things a little slower. Just hanging out, dating, nothing too serious just yet," I explained. "I'm not even staying with him in his hotel room. I'm with Trish for the time being."  
  
"I see. Are you happy with your decision?"  
  
"Of course I am."  
  
"Are you happy with him?"  
  
"I'm very happy with him. He makes me smile. He makes me happy."  
  
"Good. That's all that matters," he said scratching the back his head. "Casey, all I want is for you to be happy."  
  
"I am happy."  
  
"I wish you and Jeff the best of luck," he sighed.  
  
"Shane, I'd like to get past all this shit and become friends like we used to be in the beginning."  
  
"So would I, but it's easier said than done."  
  
"I realize that. I know it's gonna be hard. But I'd really like to work for that."  
  
"Yeah, alright."  
  
"I guess I'd better go."  
  
"Yeah, I'm glad you um, you came here."  
  
"Me too," I smiled as I went to give him a hug. He backed away slightly and I closed my eyes realizing that I had probably just fucked up a great friendship with a great guy. That's when I felt Shane's shirt in my hands. "Oh, I um, brought your shirt back."  
  
"Keep it."  
  
"It's yours."  
  
"And now it's yours. Keep it. I want you to have it. Remember all the good times we used to have together."  
  
"I will. I'll always remember them cause whether you realize it or not, you are a part of my life and always will be. I love you Shane. I do love you so much," I sobbed. He nodded at me as I realized he was rubbing my class ring between his fingers. I smiled slightly and walked out the door, bursting out into full tears.  
  
"I'll always love you. You'll always be my Angel," Shane whispered as the door shut behind me. He brought the ring up to his lips and kissed the cool metal before letting it fall onto his chest where it hung from a long chain around his neck.  
  
****************************  
  
"How'd things go?" Trish asked as she looked up from her book when I walked into the room. I sighed and wiped my cheeks with the Green Lantern t-shirt.  
  
"Better than I expected," I replied truthfully.  
  
"Do you think things will ever be good between the two of you again?" she asked curiously as I sat down on my bed.  
  
"I hope so. I want things to be, but I don't know if either one of us has the strength for that."  
  
"I'm sure things will be fine. You did the right thing ya know."  
  
"I don't know. I'm starting to think I shouldn't have gone there."  
  
"No, I mean with choosing Jeff over Shane before you got in too deep."  
  
"I hope so."  
  
"You two belong together. You're soul mates. Very few people actually find their soul mates. You and Jeff have. Each other. So enjoy it. Make sure you tell him that you love him every second you get. Cause things like this don't often happen," Trish said thoughtfully causing me to smile.  
  
"Why is it that blondes are always the wisest?"  
  
"Cause we're that damn good!" she laughed. "Why are you with me anyways? You should be with him."  
  
"Taking it slow Trish. That means no sleeping together."  
  
"Girl, you were sleeping together like within a few weeks of meeting the man."  
  
"I know, but things are different now."  
  
"You two do say how much you love each other, right?"  
  
"Nope, not since Saturday nite."  
  
"Oh Case. You really should."  
  
"No, not yet. It's not the right time. We'll know when we're supposed to do all this. Right now it's not the time. It'll happen eventually."  
  
"Well, onto bigger and better things. I hear that there's talk about you goin up against Jay in a hardcore match for the belt at Summerslam," she smiled.  
  
"Yeah, I could get it for the third time. That's like a record or something, isn't it?"  
  
"You're the only girl to ever do anything like that. But you were breaking records just because of your age and shit. You're like the youngest person to get a belt or something," she laughed.  
  
"Yeah I guess I am. Pretty cool, huh?"  
  
"It's the coolest. You're re-revolutionizing the whole idea of the WWE diva. We all thought that was Amy's job. But you came in and just grabbed everyone's attention."  
  
"I love leaving people in awe."  
  
"Yeah, and you're doin it even more by showin off your voice at house shows. You're really talented Case."  
  
"Thanks, but I'm not that good."  
  
"No, you're EXCELLENT!" she laughed as I hit her in the head with a pillow.  
  
"It's not like I'm doin anything that spectacular," I laughed.  
  
"Casey, you are spectacular. You are one of the best people I know. You're so well rounded and there isn't a person on the roster that doesn't like you or respect you."  
  
"Randy."  
  
"Fuck Randy."  
  
"No thanks," Trish joked as she laid back on her bed.  
  
"I can't believe he hasn't gotten over all this stuff."  
  
"I know. He's so thick headed."  
  
"No kidding."  
  
"Oh, I heard that Adam and Alanah had a baby boy."  
  
"Yeah, Michael Lee Copeland."  
  
"Awwwwe. Wait, isn't Lee your middle name? Coincidence?"  
  
"They wanted me to be incorporated some how. Jay decided he should be Michael. And Adam wanted Lee because of me," I smiled.  
  
"That's so cute," Trish gushed.  
  
"Yeah, it was really nice of them."  
  
"I also heard from the grapevine that Shannon and Crystal are having a baby."  
  
"Yeah they are."  
  
"Wow, you'd better be careful. You might be next," Trish laughed.  
  
"Oh God no! That aint gonna be happenin for a LONG time," I laughed.  
  
"Oh man, and I was really looking forward to bein an aunt!" she joked.  
  
"Not by this girl!" I exclaimed. 


	15. Accidents Happen

It had been two weeks since Jeff and I had gotten together and I felt like I was in the right place in my life. Jeff and I still haven't said we love each since the first nite and we still weren't sleeping together when we traveled. But we didn't care. We were together and that's all that mattered. Our relationship was so different from how mine and Shane's was. Jeff and I acted like we were best friends just hanging out with each other like we did in the past. We didn't really walk down the halls holding hands, or make out with each other in public, or any of that stuff. You didn't know we were dating, you would think we were just friends. We might give each other a soft kiss on the cheek or a hug, but that was it. Everyone seemed to think we were the cutest couple, and I'd have to agree with them. We had started to dye our hair the same colors and paint our nails the same colors as well. We were just very comfortable with each other and didn't feel like we needed to do any of that stuff. We knew we loved each other and that was all that mattered.  
  
"Getting ready for the hardcore match?" Stacy asked as she walked into the locker room sounding very upset.  
  
"Yeah, are you okay?" I asked as I pulled on my arm bands. I began to wrap my ankle as she sat down in a chair.  
  
"No, Andrew and I just had a massive fight on the flight here. I don't think I can handle this anymore," she said breaking down into tears.  
  
"Handle what?" I asked.  
  
"Him looking at other girls and other girls goggling over him," she sobbed.  
  
"Oh, wow. Is that what the fight was about?"  
  
"Yeah, I caught him flirting with a stewardess on his way back from the bathroom."  
  
"Wow, that's not cool. What'd he say?"  
  
"Just that I was over exaggerating."  
  
"I'm sure things will get better," I said trying to comfort her.  
  
"No it won't. I just broke up with him," she cried.  
  
"Oh Stace. You shouldn't have done that. Wow," I said.  
  
"I know but I seriously couldn't deal with it."  
  
"It was that bad huh?" I asked.  
  
"Very bad. He pushed me too far this time," she replied.  
  
"I'm sorry Stace. I really am," I said as I walked over to give her a hug.  
  
"Case, we're up!" I heard Jay yell. I grab my Team Extreme shirt and pulled it over my head. I gave Stacy a smile and joined Jay in the hall. "So, I guess you heard about Stacy and Andrew."  
  
"Yeah, Stacy just told me. She's so upset. What's Andrew like?" I asked.  
  
"He's acting like it doesn't bother him," he answered.  
  
"What an ass," I replied shaking my head as his music. "Be careful out there."  
  
"You too kiddo," he smiled as he ran out holding up his belt. He entered the ring to a mix of boos and cheers. He handed his belt to the ref and smiled as the arena went black and a mixture of blue and silver pyro fell over the titantron. I slowly made my way towards the ring with a smile on my face as I waved to the people.  
  
I stood in front of him as we had a little stare off before locking up. He brought me into a headlock and I pushed him into the ropes. On his return I stood my ground and hit him with a shoulder. He hit the mat and I ran back to the ropes where I bounced off. I came towards him and he picked me up into a back body drop. He quickly went for a leg drop before sliding out of the ring to grab a weapon. I rolled over and watched him crawl under the ring for something. I quickly slid out the other side and pulled out a ladder. I smiled as I slid it back into the ring. I pulled out a trash can lid and slid into the ring holding it tightly as he went to hit me with a 2x4. I ducked and nailed him in the back of the head with the lid. He fell down face first and I placed the lid on his back. I went back to my ladder and set up for Heaven's Light. Somewhere between the set up and lift off, he had rolled out of the way, leaving the lid for me to land on. My back landed on it hard and I wriggled in pain as he pulled me to my feet. He hit me with a few chops before lifting me into a suplex back down onto the lid. He went for the cover, but I wasn't done. I listened to all the people chanting my name and kicked out on two. Frustrated he went back to find something to hit me with. He came back with a chair but I was ready for him and grabbed him for a DDT. He grabbed his head and I quickly pulled him up. I whipped him into the ropes and pulled him into a head scissor take down. I ran up the post and did my version of whisper in the wind, which had more of a flip than a twist to it. I went for the cover but he kicked out. I pulled him to his feet and hit him with a German suplex followed by a snap mare. I pulled him up and whipped him into the corner. I ran at him in a spear position, but he lifted his feet just in time, causing me to ram my shoulder into the post. I stood up and he ran at me with the ladder in his hands, ramming it up against my back. I slammed back into the post and he lifted me up onto the top of it to superplex me into the mat. He tried to get the win, but just as the ref went for the 3rd count, I punched out. He argued with ref, giving me time to recover and get up. I grabbed the chair he had earlier. He turned to look at me just as I swung the chair around. It connected with his head, causing an enormously loud thud to erupt. The second I heard the thud, I knew something was wrong. I saw Jay fall to the floor, completely knocked out with blood streaming down his forehead and around his face. I dropped the chair on the mat and covered my mouth with my hands as tears began streaming down my face. I had completely broken character as I fell to my knees next to him.  
  
"JAY!!" I screamed as I held his hand tightly. "Jay!!!"  
  
"Case, you gotta move," Michael Chioda said as paramedics and other refs ran into the ring. The arena was filled with a deathly hush as I was pushed a side.  
  
"Folks, this was not planned. Christian is seriously hurt," JR announced as Michael lifted to me to my feet and helped me out of the ring, allowing the paramedics to care to Jay. He wrapped his arm around my waist as he led me up the ramp. I could barely move my legs, they were weak and shook under me. I felt sick and just wanted to sit on the ramp, crying. He helped me to the back where Adam ran up to me.  
  
"Case, what happened out there?" he asked tearfully.  
  
"I didn't mean to," I cried as he took me into his arms and held me. He rubbed the back of my head as I cried into his chest.  
  
"I know. But what happened?" he repeated.  
  
"I hit him with the chair and I guess he wasn't paying attention or something and it hit him right one," I cried.  
  
"Jesus. Are you okay?" Adam asked as he pulled away. "Did you get injured or anything.  
  
"Just some bumps, nothing bad," I answered as he wiped my cheeks with his hand.  
  
"It's okay, go see first aid," Adam said as the paramedics rushed by us with Jay on a stretcher.  
  
"I wanna go to the hospital," I said.  
  
"Just go get cleaned up and changed. Get Jeff and I'll see you there," Adam said as he rushed after Jay. I slowly walked into the Diva's locker room, into a silence that was so heavy it hurt.  
  
"Is he okay?" Nora asked quietly.  
  
"I don't know. He's on his way to the hospital," I replied as I grabbed some close.  
  
"Are you okay?" Trish asked as she watched me walk by her sadly.  
  
"Physically or emotionally?" I asked.  
  
"Both?" she questioned.  
  
"Kinda and no," I replied.  
  
"Where's Case?" Jeff asked as he burst into the room.  
  
"She's changing. She's a mess Jeff," Nora said.  
  
"I can imagine. I'll just wait for her," he said as he sat on the bench next to my stuff. Moments later I walked out in Adam's sweatshirt and a pair of raggedy old jeans. Tears were still streaming down my face and Jeff knew immediately what I needed. He jumped up and wrapped me in his arms tightly. Just holding me, not saying a word.  
  
"I wanna go to the hospital," I spoke many minutes later.  
  
"I figured you would. Come on," he said as he hosted my bags on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm tightly around my waist. He threw my stuff in the rental and we drove off to the hospital. We ran into the emergency room to see Adam sitting there waiting.  
  
"No one's come out yet," he said as I sat next to him.  
  
"I'm sorry," I said softly. Adam instantly took my hand and shook his head.  
  
"No, it's not your fault. It was an accident," Adam replied. "Accidents happen."  
  
"Mr. Copeland?" a nurse asked as she walked around to face us.  
  
"That's me. How's Jason?" he asked.  
  
"I can't go into too many details because you're not direct family, but I can tell you that he had to have stitches, there was a little bit of loss of blood, and he's received a severe concussion. He's still unconscious. Probably will be for the rest of the nite. He might not even remember tonite," she explained.  
  
"Is there a chance he may not remember anything?" Adam asked fearfully.  
  
"No, I don't believe so. It was serious blow to the head, but it shouldn't cause amnesia. He'll just have trouble remember current events and things like that," she smiled.  
  
"Can we go in and see him?" I asked.  
  
"I'm afraid not. Not right now anyways. If you would like to stay around for a bit, then I might be able to convince the doctors to allow you in one at a time," she replied.  
  
"Thank you," Jeff smiled as she left.  
  
"I better go back to the hotel and call Denise. Call me if something happens. If you're gonna stay around that is," Adam said as he stood.  
  
"Do ya wanna stay?" Jeff asked as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.  
  
"Yeah, I do," I replied.  
  
"Alright. I'll see you guys later," Adam said kissing my cheek and giving Jeff's shoulder a little squeeze before leaving. I looked up at Jeff and placed a soft kiss on his lips. I smiled at him as I ran my hand down the side of his face.  
  
"I love you," I said softly.  
  
"I love you Casey," he smiled as he kissed me back. I snuggled into his body as his arms got tighter around me. He rested his head on my head and sighed.  
  
"Happy birthday Jeff," I said.  
  
"Thanks," he said with a quite chuckle.  
  
***************************  
  
"So how's Jay? Adam said that you and Jeff spent the nite with him at the hospital," Trish said.  
  
"Well, around 3 in the morning he woke up and couldn't remember anything that happened that whole day, which completely freaked him out cause he didn't understand why he was at the hospital. So we were allowed in there to talk to him and calm him down and try and explain things to him. Adam came in around 6 and we left to get some sleep at the hotel. But he's doing alright now," I explained.  
  
"That's good. Shane wanted to speak to you when you got in," she said with a smile. I sighed as I set my gear down on the bench and went on a search for his office. The door was open so I walked in. He looked up at me over his laptop and smiled. He motioned for me to sit on the couch and followed me there.  
  
"How are you doing Case? Any injuries?" he asked.  
  
"Just a sore back and some bruises. Nothing I won't get over," I smiled.  
  
"Good, how about emotionally?" he asked.  
  
"I could be better, but knowing that Jay's up and shit makes me feel better," I said.  
  
"Good. My father and I discussed things about what we should do about the belt since the match was cut short. So we decided that we would hand it over to you until Jay comes back and then have a rematch," Shane explained.  
  
"Um, okay," I said in an unsure tone.  
  
"We think that's the best idea right now," he said.  
  
"That's fine. I guess it is the best idea," I replied as I started to get up.  
  
"Um, ya know we don't have a match for you tonite. You can go back to the hotel and rest or whatever after we announce you as the winner," he said.  
  
"Nah, I'll walk about with Jeff for his match against Andrew," I smiled.  
  
"Alright. I'll see you later," Shane nodded as I walked out. I walked into the locker room and quickly changed into a pair of blue camo flares and a matching midriff muscle tee that I had cut up. I tied my black combat boots and curled my hair slightly before pulling the sides into a ponytail. I nodded at myself in the mirror and waited for Jeff to finish getting ready. The show started and Shane walked out to a tremendous pop. He stood in the middle of the ring with the hardcore belt draped over his shoulder and microphone in hand.  
  
"Welcome to RAW everyone! I am out here tonite to deal with the hardcore belt issue. Last nite at SummerSlam there was a hardcore title match. And with every hardcore match there's the chance of something bad happening. Last nite that chance happened. Last nite, Christian and Mystic Angel battled it out. In the end Christian was laid out from a chair shot. He was knocked out and was rushed to the hospital where he later woke up, not remembering anything about the match. Now, Angel's emotions got the best of her and she broke down. We were unable to crown a champion. So, tonite, I am crowning a temporary champion. Mystic Angel could please join me in the ring?" Shane said as my music hit. Jeff and I walked down hand in hand to a pop that could have caused an earthquake. We slid into the ring and I crossed my arms as we stood in front of Shane. He smiled at me and gave Jeff and nod. "Because you were unable to pin your opponent and finish the match I'm crowning you the champion! BUT only until Christian is well and able to come back. At that time we will have a rematch for the hardcore title. Whoever wins that match because champion." Shane handed over the belt and he and Jeff raised my arms in the air. I kissed the metal on the belt and smiled as I waved it around for the audience. My music was blaring as we all walked to the back. My smile faded as I threw the belt over my shoulder and walked with Jeff to his locker room. 


	16. The Truth Comes Out

A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I was not coming up with any good ideas. Thank you to those of you that are reading my other story, Connection. Well, Wednesday my good friend Matt leaves for boot camp. I'm gonna miss him so much. Lately he's been the only friend that's cared about me. It's gonna be hard. I've been crying all morning about it. He was nice enough to buy me, Jessy, another friend, and Kristen Denny's last nite. Things with him and Kristen are SO NOT good. It was pretty bad between them last nite. Some how I ended up being the one trying to stop it all. But tonite should be good. It's our last nite together and our friend, Ben is bringin some Smirnoff and Skyy Blue and the...........8 of us are gonna have a good time. In a chem-free dorm with nothing but minors! Lol Oh well, we have like 2 more weeks of classes, what are they gonna do? Kick us out?! GO FOR IT!!! I don't wanna be here anyways! Lol Anyways, here's the next chapter!!!!!  
  
***************************  
  
"Do you want the bathroom first or second tomorrow?" Trish asked as we stood next to the conveyor belt of luggage.  
  
"Actually Jeff and I have decided to stay together from now on," I answered as I tapped my foot impatiently. "Besides, I'm flyin right out after the house show up to Maine for Jessy's wedding."  
  
"Oh yeah! Tell them congrats for me," Trish smiled. "Is she excited?"  
  
"I actually haven't talked to her since last Friday, something I have to do tonite cause I completely forgot to tell her about Jeff and Shane," I replied. "Jesus! Where's my fuckin luggage?!"  
  
"I don't know hun, but I'd say it's not here," Trish said as she grabbed her last bag.  
  
"Great!" I exclaimed as I angrily threw my hands in the air.  
  
"We ready to go?" Jeff asked as he and Shannon smiled at us.  
  
"No. My fuckin luggage must have gotten lost!"  
  
"Luggage claim," Shannon sighed.  
  
"Dude, we seriously don't have time for this shit!" I cried.  
  
"It's okay Case," Jeff chuckled as he wrapped his arm around my bare tan stomach. I smiled as we walked over to the desk. Trish let out a sigh as she and Shannon watched us walk away. Shannon smiled as he rested his arm on her shoulder.  
  
"What's the matter Trish?" he asked.  
  
"I guess I always pictured Jeff and I together. I mean don't get me wrong. I love Casey and I'm glad she's with someone she loves. But why does that someone have to be Jeff? Why couldn't she stay with Shane?" Trish answered.  
  
"Shane didn't make her happy the way Jeff does. You must have known from the look on her face whenever they were together," Shannon said as they looked at each other.  
  
"Honestly, I never saw any different look."  
  
"You didn't see the sparkle in her eyes? You didn't see how her face would always light up when he would walk in the room? Or the instant smile that adorned his face whenever he saw her? Or how when they would touch they'd shiver with joy? Or how about that spark between them? Or............."  
  
"Shannon!!! Shut up!!" Trish yelled in an almost annoyed tone. "Yes! Okay? Yes, I saw all that! But Shannon, I'm not used to losing the guy! Especially to some unknown runaway who just miraculously shows up looking like a drowned rat!"  
  
"Um.......Trish," Shannon said softly looking over her shoulder at me as I stood behind with my face as pale as possible.  
  
"No, I'm not finished!" she yelled. "I love Case, really I do, but let's face it, when she walked into our lives she was on the lacking side of the looks department."  
  
"Trish, stop," Shannon demanded as he saw tears form in my eyes.  
  
"I don't know how she did it, but she stole the man I've been in love with for years in a matter of days!" Trish continued.  
  
"Damn it Trish! Cut it out!" Shannon yelled.  
  
"Why? It's not like she knows how I feel!" She laughed.  
  
"She does now!" I cried as I fought back my tears. She turned around slowly, her mouth open in shock. She bit on her lower lip as her face became an embarrassed flush color.  
  
"Casey, I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to hear any of that," she said quietly.  
  
"If you were really sorry, you wouldn't have said it," I replied through clenched teeth.  
  
"If I could take it all.........."  
  
"No, Trish, I thought you were my friend," I interrupted her angrily.  
  
"I am your friend. I was just a little angry."  
  
"I thought you were on my side about this whole Jeff thing!" I yelled as Jeff walked up to us.  
  
"What's wrong?" he smiled as he held my hand. I looked at him and shook my head as I turned back to Trish.  
  
"Ya know what? If you really feel like I stole him from you, then you can have him!" I cried as I put their hands together and ran off.  
  
"Casey!" Trish yelled after me.  
  
"What the hell just happened?" Jeff asked as he continued to hold Trish's hand in confusion. Trish's chin quivered as tears pricked the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall as she watched me run out of the airport. "Why'd my girlfriend just run out of here? And why am I holding your hand and not her's?!"  
  
"I'm gonna go talk to Case. Trish, you try and explain yourself to Jeff," Shannon said as he ran off to be with me.  
  
"Trish?" Jeff asked dropping her hand and crossing his arms.  
  
"Case? Sweetie? You okay?" Shannon asked as he spotted me sitting on the concrete sidewalk. He sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulders.  
  
"I didn't know she felt that way," I cried.  
  
"I know. I think she's just upset that she doesn't have anyone," Shannon said.  
  
"She hates me."  
  
"No she doesn't.  
  
"She must if she would say those things about me. I wonder who else feels that way about me."  
  
"Sweetie, no one hates you. If everyone hated you, you wouldn't have people around you 24/7."  
  
"Shan, why's my life a fuckin soap opera?" He just laughed at me before placing a quick kiss on the top of my green and blue hair. "If I had known she felt that way about Jeff I probably would have let her have him."  
  
"If you had done that than none of you would have been happy. You would have been with Shane and wishing you had Jeff. Jeff would have been thinking bout you anytime he was with Trish. And Trish, well, she'd probably be the only happy one out of the group of you. But I think in the end things would have been hellish for you all."  
  
"I honestly thought Trish was on my side about this whole thing. I thought she was happy for us. One of the few that were," I said as I looked up at him.  
  
"She is. She's very happy for the two of you because you're both her friends and she loves you. And if you two are truly happy than she's happy," Shannon said.  
  
"Why would you say those things, Trish?!" Jeff exclaimed as he threw himself down on a bench.  
  
"Because I was jealous, upset, and I guess a little mad," Trish answered drying her tears with a tissue.  
  
"You know how sensitive she is. You know how emotional she can get. Why would you say that shit out in the open?!" Jeff said.  
  
"I didn't think she would hear them. Jeff, I think you two are great together. Really I do. But I can't help the way I feel either," she answered.  
  
"Trish, I didn't know you felt this way about me. Why didn't you say something?"  
  
"Because when we dated for that little bit and it didn't work out. I didn't want to hurt our friendship cause I think we have a pretty good one."  
  
"We do Trish."  
  
"I'm sorry Jeff. I really am," Trish apologized as Shannon I walked towards them. She looked up at me and smiled. "Casey, I'm so sorry. You know I would never try to hurt you in anyway."  
  
"Yeah," I said softly.  
  
"Casey, I don't wanna be with Trish. I just wanna be with you. I love you," Jeff said as his concerned green eyes stared deeply into my blue eyes. I smiled at him as he jumped up to wrap his arms around my waist, lifting me in the air. "You believe me right?"  
  
"Yeah, of course. I love you too Jeff," I said as I kissed him deeply. "So, is my luggage here yet?"  
  
"Let's go see," Jeff smiled as he took my hand and we walked to the luggage claim desk.  
  
********************************  
  
"So, do you and Shane need Jesse or me to come and pick you two up from the airport?" Jessy asked as I began to change for the show.  
  
"No, Jeff and I will be renting a car," I replied casually.  
  
"Wait, Jeff?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, Jeff."  
  
"What about Shane? Isn't he comin with you?"  
  
"No, Jeff is coming with me."  
  
"Why? I thought you two weren't on speaking terms."  
  
"Well, Shane and I broke up cause I don't love him."  
  
"You're in love with Jeff."  
  
"Yep, I'm in love with Jeff."  
  
"Awwwwe, that's so cute. But I figured I'd be goin to your wedding to Shane."  
  
"Yeah, that aint happenin," I laughed.  
  
"So you two are a couple now?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, we are," I answered.  
  
"Are you and Shane friends?"  
  
"Um, that's a shady area."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah, we talked and I tried we like straightened things out with him, ya know, gave him an explanation type thing. Afterwards I told him that I definitely wanted to be friends and shit, but we don't talk now. We try not to make eye contact even. So that friendship thing went down the drain. I really don't know what to do because I do love Shane. He's still a very big part of me. It's really weird not having him in my life."  
  
"Then get him in your life," I heard Shane say. I turned towards the door and almost dropped my cell phone on the floor.  
  
"Shane," I said blinking my eyes furiously.  
  
"Whoa! Shane's there?!" Jessy yelled into the phone.  
  
"Yeah, um, Jess, I'll see ya tonite," I replied as I hung up the phone.  
  
"I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation with her," Shane said shyly.  
  
"That's okay," I answered feeling very uncomfortable.  
  
"I'm sorry for kinda avoiding you. You just have to understand that this is all still pretty hard on me," he said.  
  
"I know. But it's also hard on me too. Just knowing how much I've hurt you, hurts me."  
  
"I know. But I miss you Case. I need you to be in my life in some way."  
  
"Me too. Our relationship started off of one phone call and continued onto many other phone calls. I mean you are one of the main reasons I have a cell phone even," I laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I am to thank for that, huh?" he smiled. "Wow, it feels good to joke around like that with you again."  
  
"I know. I've missed it a lot. I love you Shane. I really do."  
  
"I know me too."  
  
"Yeah, cause your ego is gigantic!" I teased.  
  
"HEY!!" he laughed as he lunged at me playfully. We fell to the floor laughing as he rolled off me. "So, tomorrow is the Jessys' wedding right?"  
  
"Yeah. She's so excited and really nervous. She can't wait for me to get there," I smiled.  
  
"Tell them good luck for me," he said as we sat up.  
  
"Of course. So, um, did you tell your parents?"  
  
"Yeah, my dad asked me how I lost such a great girl like you to some other man. He asked what I was doing wrong and if I wasn't pleasing you right," he laughed.  
  
"Sorry," I chuckled.  
  
"Ah well," he said as we stood. "OH! I have your high school ring."  
  
"Ya know what? I don't wear it. You might as well keep it. Plus you let me keep your t-shirt. It's only fair," I smiled.  
  
"Are you sure? Jeff won't want it?"  
  
"Nah, it's yours."  
  
"Do you wear my t-shirt?"  
  
"To bed sometimes."  
  
"And Jeff doesn't care?"  
  
"I don't care if he does or doesn't. We're friends, or at least I hope we are. He knows that I'm his," I answered.  
  
"Yeah, we're friends. I think we just proved that," he said.  
  
"Casey!!! You're up in 5!" a tech yelled. I grabbed my hardcore belt, hoisted it on my shoulder, and Shane followed me out the door. 


	17. She Returns

Jeff was sitting on his couch putting some finishing touches on a song he was writing, guitar on his lap, and a smile on his face. I could hear it all the way up to his room where I was on the computer ordering some stuff from Manic Panic. When I finished I slowly walked down to the living room and plopped down on the couch next to him with a shocked look on my face.  
  
"What's up baby?" he asked leaning over to kiss my cheek. I looked at him and shook my head.  
  
"Dude, I just spent about 100 bucks on dye and nail polish for the both of us at Manic Panic," I answered.  
  
"Are you serious?!" he laughed.  
  
"This is getting quite ridiculous Jeff. We spend more on hair dye and shit than we do on like food for the house," I laughed as he rubbed my knee gently.  
  
"Yeah, but people have come to love us for being different like that. Besides, I love your hair when it matches mine," he chuckled as he leaned over to nibble on my ear slightly. I giggled childishly before I pushed him away and gave him a stern look.  
  
"Speaking of spending money, you have NO food in this house. I went to get some cereal this morning while you were in the shower and there was about a spoon full of Cap'n Crunch and some 3 week old milk," I replied.  
  
"Alright, so we go food shopping today. But I have a question for ya first," Jeff said seriously.  
  
"That's never a good thing," I smiled playfully.  
  
"Hey! There was no need for that!" he laughed. "Anyways, since you pretty much live here now anyways, why don't we just move you out of Dad's house and in here?"  
  
"I don't know Jeff. We said we were gonna take things slow," I replied.  
  
"Case, we've been together for almost 2 months. We barely make out, most people think we're just friends, and we just started staying in the same hotel room. I think we should speed up the process here! Plus every time we're home you go visit Dad and act like you're gonna stay there, then run over here and stay with me!" he said.  
  
"I know, but I just don't want to rush into anything."  
  
"Casey, I think it's safe to say that we're not rushing into anything. Babe, I'm not asking you to marry me, I'm just asking you to move in," he said.  
  
"Can I think about it?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure. Think about it," he sighed. "Let's go get some food."  
  
We took off for Raleigh in his brand new pick up. The ride was fairly quiet except for the sounds of Peroxwhygen playing in the stereo. I was thinking far too much to pay any attention to anything he might say anyways. I loved Jeff, but I wasn't sure that I was ready to move in with him. Shane and I were dating for 2 years before we moved in together. Was I seriously ready to be with Jeff like that? He was right with one thing though, we were taking things too slow. That's when I shocked myself by blurting out, "Yes."  
  
He looked over at me and raised his eyebrows curiously. "Yes, what?" he asked.  
  
"Yes...........ummm.........yes, I want to move in with you," I replied as he swerved off the road. "JESUS JEFF!!!"  
  
"Sorry," he replied as he pulled off safely. "Are you serious?!"  
  
"Yeah, I guess I am. I probably wouldn't have said it if I wasn't," I laughed.  
  
"That's great baby!" he smiled as he hugged me tightly. "It's going to be so great to have you living with me!" I laughed at him as he cautiously pulled back on the road. "So now I have to buy food for the both of us."  
  
"No, WE have to buy food for the both of us. We're in this equally now," I smiled.  
  
"Equally, huh? I guess I can live with that," he smiled he pulled into a parking spot.  
  
"I'm gonna get some soda. I'll meet you in the junk food isle," he laughed as I pushed the cart in the opposite direction he was going in. I stood in front of the chips with some jalapeno cheddar dip in my hand, trying to decide what the best kind of chip would be to get. I threw the dip in the cart and continued to stand there in front of the variety of chips, tapping my foot on the floor when I was bumped into.  
  
"Um, excuse me!" I exclaimed snobbishly as I turned towards the person that had bumped me.  
  
"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," the person replied as they stood up. It was a woman in her late 20's. Her hair was dyed dark brown with blonde streaks and went past her shoulders. She had on a long sleeved white shirt and a short jean skirt with sandals on her feet. My face contorted itself into an angry glare of hatred as I stared at the woman in front of me. "Wait, I know you."  
  
"Yeah, unfortunately," I replied.  
  
"You're that Casey chick, right?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I am," I said as my jaw clenched up.  
  
"Oh, hey. We never got properly introduced with the whole club scene and all," she laughed as she held out her hand. I looked down at it and rolled my eyes. "I'm Beth."  
  
"Yeah, no shit," I said harshly.  
  
"So, um, what are you doing here? You're dating Shane Helms right?" she asked.  
  
"No I'm not, not that it's any of your business," I answered.  
  
"Oh, well, um, I heard that Jeff had a bad encounter with a girl named Karen. She like abused him. How's he doing? Is he okay?" she asked.  
  
"Why do you care?"  
  
"Because believe it or not, I do love him."  
  
"Well, yeah, he's perfectly fine."  
  
"That's good. So is he like dating anyone?"  
  
"That's really none of your business," I answered as I felt Jeff place a couple 24 packs of soda in the cart. I looked over at him and he smiled as he placed a kiss on my cheek.  
  
"Hey Jeff!" Beth exclaimed excitedly. He looked at her and his smile slowly faded.  
  
"Beth," he nodded.  
  
"I was just talking to Casey here about you," she smiled.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah, I heard about Karen. I hope you don't have a grudge against all of us women," she smiled.  
  
"No, I had a very good friend help me through it," he said holding my hand tightly in his.  
  
"That's good to hear," she nodded.  
  
"Where's Lee? Is he gonna jump out of someplace and attack Case and I?" Jeff asked.  
  
"Oh God no! I'm not with him anymore. In fact we weren't together much longer after that confrontation. So, Jeff, I was kinda thinking that maybe we could get together, ya know, catch up," she said.  
  
"Why would I want to do that?" he asked.  
  
"It could be like old times between us. I really missed you," she replied as she got closer to him. Jeff slowly pulled back, taking me with him. "Oh come on Jeff. You can't say that we didn't have something good going. We could have that again."  
  
"Yeah, Beth, we did have something good, but you fucked it up. And I don't want you. We will never be like we used to be. I'm in love with someone else. And I'm never gonna lose her, especially to you!" Jeff exclaimed wrapping his arm around my waist.  
  
"YOU?!" she yelled as she stared at us wide eyed.  
  
"What the hell do you mean by that?!" I yelled.  
  
"I can't believe that he would be with you of all people!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, come here bitch!" I growled as I lunged forward at her but Jeff caught me around the waist and pulled me back to him. "You're so fuckin lucky! I would kick your ass so fast!"  
  
"Oh whatever," she said as she started to walk away.  
  
"Jeff, let me at her now!" I yelled.  
  
"No, just calm down. She's gone. Don't worry about it," he sighed as he slowly let me go.  
  
"I can't believe that bitch!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, well, that's Beth for ya," he said. "Come on, let's finish our shopping and get home."  
  
********************  
  
"So did you kick Beth's ass?" Shane asked as I followed him into catering.  
  
"I tried and wanted to, but Jeff stopped me. I can't believe that bitch," I said shaking my head as I grabbed a bottle of water and sat at an empty table. Shane joined me with a tray full of food.  
  
"Aren't you gonna eat?" he asked curiously as he started into his food.  
  
"Nah, I ate before we got here," I answered as I sipped my water.  
  
"So, you ready to put in a storyline again?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I mean, it should be cool. Me, you, and Jeff as faces goin against Shannon, Matt, and Ames as the heels. Should be good man," I smiled.  
  
"Hey!" Jeff announced with a smile on his face as he sat next to me. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothin, just talking bout the storyline," Shane replied.  
  
"So the plan is for me and Shane to win the tag titles and the other three will attack us after the match right?" Jeff asked.  
  
"Correct. That starts the whole 3 way feud. Should be interesting," I answered.  
  
"Well, I'd better get ready," Shane said as he stood leaving his barely touched tray on the table.  
  
"What's with him?" Jeff asked.  
  
"I don't think he can seriously stand to see us together just yet," I said.  
  
"Oh, I guess I never really thought about that," Jeff said.  
  
"He'll get used to it. I mean he's already made a few steps to recovery by just hanging out with the two of us individually. He'll come around," I smiled kissing his cheek lightly. "I'm gonna go get ready. I'll see you for the match." I stood and walked out of catering towards the locker room leaving Jeff alone.  
  
****************  
  
I stood with Jeff and Shane waiting for our cue in my khaki bungee cord cargos, sneakers, and a cut up blue camo tank top. I had a bandana tied around my left arm and a Yankees hat on my head. Shane adjusted his blue jeans, no longer using the Hurricane persona, and rolled his shoulders. Jeff sighed deeply as he rubbed my shoulders gently. He wore a black wife-beater and white baggy jeans with black seams.  
  
"The following match is scheduled for one fall and is for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Introducing first, the tag team champions, weighing in at a combined weight of 530 lbs, Rene Dupree and Test!" They entered the ring and we stepped up for our introductions. "And the challengers, being accompanied by Mystic Angel, weighing in at a combined weight of 435 lbs, Shane Helms and Jeff Hardy!" We ran out to the stage and the crowd erupted. I jumped up and down with a large smile on my face as the music played. I saw some of the people jumping with me as I punched the air getting everyone pumped up. We down the ramp together, slapping hands on our way down, and slid into the ring. Shane and Jeff took to the posts and I jumped up and down on the ropes between them. I slid out of the ring after we all hit fists and watched as Shane locked up with Rene. I pounded on the mat, trying to get him fired up, and it worked as Shane scoop slammed Rene right onto the mat. Shane applied an arm bar on Rene's right arm and tried getting him to tap. When he had no luck at that Shane stood and brought Rene up with him. Shane whipped him into the ropes and went for a hip toss, but Rene countered and pulled off a side slam. Rene pulled Shane up and applied a head lock but Shane quickly moved to the ropes, breaking the hold. Rene did a German suplex and went to tag in Test. Shane crawled to Jeff and just barely tagged him in. Jeff ran in and clotheslined Test. He bounced off the ropes and went of a leg drop but Test moved. He pulled Jeff to his feet and pulled off a suplex. Jeff quickly got up and did a drop kick to Test's chest. Test fell down with a hard thud and Jeff tried for the pin but only got a two count. Jeff pulled test to his feet and tried whipping him into the corner, but Test countered and Jeff ran straight for the post. Jeff quickly ran up for whisper in the wind and knocked Test down. He tried for the pin but only got another two count. Frustrated, Jeff stood and up to the top of the post and tried for a Swanton only Test rolled out of the way just in time. I pounded on the mat as Test pulled Jeff up and whipped him into the ropes, trying for the big boot, but Jeff held onto the ropes. He tagged Shane in and he flew at Test in a cross body. He quickly went for a crossfaced halo while I kept Rene occupied. He got the pin and the win, making Jeff and Shane the tag team champions. "And here are your winners, the new WWE Tag Team Champions, Jeff Hardy and Shane Helms!" The ref handed them the belts as I slid into the ring to hold their arms up. Our celebration was cut short when Amy, Matt, and Shannon ran into the ring. Amy threw me down doing a hurricanrana. Matt hit Jeff with a twist of fate. And Shannon hit Shane with his halo. They stood over us, high fived, and raised their arms in the air to the crowd. The crowd disapproved of their actions and let them know that. The three of them began up the ramp as we laid in the ring. Slowly we came to walked into the back ending RAW.  
  
"Well, I think that was a good show," I smiled.  
  
"Yeah it was. We make a pretty good threesome," Jeff said.  
  
"Umm.......I hate to tell you Jeff, but I......." Shane started.  
  
"Shane, shut up," I laughed as I disappeared into the Diva's locker room. 


	18. 5 time, 5 time, 5 time, 5 time, 5 time W...

A/N: Well, damn it, I'm finally updating this damn story! lol I know it's been a long wait, but here it is. I'm really sorry about the wait. I just had nothing for this. But I tried to keep ya'll occupied with Connection, and I think that worked. lol So, here's the next chapter. I'll see what I can do about getting another one up sooner.  
  
***********************************  
  
"Shane, did I show you my new tattoo?" I asked as we sat in the hallway of the arena, waiting to be called for out match.  
  
"You got another tattoo?! Damn, you're starting to turn out like Amy!" he laughed.  
  
"Oh, but you'll love this one. I got it because of you," I smiled.  
  
"What? Did you get SUGAR tattooed on your ass or something?" he asked.  
  
"Um, no. Not now and not ever will that happen," I laughed. "Didn't I express that when I got my dragon?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but I was hoping that maybe you had changed your mind or something," he shrugged.  
  
"No, I will never get that done. Anyways, my new tattoo," I smiled as I pulled the left leg of my jeans up a bit and slid my boot off. I smiled as he gave me a confused look from seeing the Chinese symbol on my ankle.  
  
"Um, that's great babe, really it is, but um, what the hell does it mean?" he asked.  
  
"Angel," I said simply.  
  
"Angel? As in my nickname for you?" he smiled brightly.  
  
"Yeah, as in the nickname," I replied.  
  
"It's great. Really it is," he said as he hugged me tightly.  
  
"You two ready for the match?" Jeff asked as he shouldered his tag team belt. He pulled me up to my feet and kissed my cheek lightly. Shane shook his head slightly as he walked ahead of us.  
  
"Jeff, maybe you shouldn't kiss me when we're around Shane," I whispered as I made a rip in my shirt larger.  
  
"I'm sorry. I just didn't realize that I had to keep our relationship in the closet when around him," Jeff replied.  
  
"Don't get mad, please. I just got him back as a friend and I don't wanna lose him," I said.  
  
"Yeah, I gotcha," Jeff sighed as I heard my music start.  
  
"The following match is scheduled for one fall and is for the WWE Women's Championship. Introducing first, being accompanied by Jeff Hardy and Shane Helms, from Cameron, North Carolina, MYSTIC ANGEL!" Jeff and I walked down the ramp holding hands as Shane pumped up the crowd. We entered the ring and the guys took a post while I jumped on the ropes between them. "Now entering the ring, being accompanied by Matt Hardy and Shannon Moore, the current Women's champion, LITA!" There was a mixture of boos and cheers for the three of them. Even though they were the heels, people had a hard time seeing them as such. I guess it's all because of the Hardy Boyz legacy. Maybe that's why Jeff and I never made good heels.  
  
As Amy entered the ring I went right at her, hitting her with a drop kick to the face, forcing her to fall backwards on to mats around the ring. I flew over the ropes in a plancha and landed on her. I quickly stood and slid her into the ring. I stood on the apron and went for a springboard crossbody off the top rope, but she stood and pulled me off the ropes. She pulled me up by my hair and went for a few forearms to my face before whipping me into the opposite side. She did a head scissor take down, causing me to land on my back. She tried for a quick cover but I kicked out on two. She pulled me up into a scoop suplex and bounced off the ropes for a leg drop but I had moved. Once standing, I moved away from her. I then ran at her with a sadistic smile on my face and hit her with a Shining Wizard. She fell back onto the mat and I went for the cover only getting a two count. I whipped her into the ropes and brought her down with a tilt-a- whirl slam. I again tried for the quick cover and she punched out on one. Once on our feet, we stared at each other, studied one another's faces. Then locked up as if it was the start of the match. I moved around behind her and had her in position for Shane's crossface halo. While she laid on the mat, I climbed up to the top of the post and used a move I hadn't used in a long time, Magic, scoring the pin and the win. "Here is your winner and new WWE Women's Champion, MYSTIC ANGEL!" I had won the women's belt for the 5th time. Shane and Jeff held my arms in the air while Matt and Shannon rushed to Amy's side. I was now Hardcore and women's champion, I was on a roll. The three of us started up the ramp when Matt grabbed the mic.  
  
"Wait a minute you three! Just because you scored a lucky pin doesn't mean you deserve to be women's champion, Angel. You're good, I'll give you that, but Lita's better and always will be! Jeff, Shane, why don't you put your tag team belts on the line in a match at No Mercy against Shannon and myself?" Matt said. The three of us looked at each other and smiled. We nodded at them simultaneously and walked off.  
  
**************************  
  
"Case, are you alright?" Jeff asked me noticing me grab my shoulder when I put my bag down on the hotel bed.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. You know how I have problems with this thing from time to time," I smiled.  
  
"Would a massage from the master help any?" he smirked at me.  
  
"Yeah, where is Shane? Could you get him for me?" I laughed as he tackled me on the bed. He hovered above me with a smile on his face before leaning down and kissing me passionately. I gave into him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him on me more. As we continued to kiss, things got a little more heated. I had lost most of my clothes, in fact all but my underwear. Jeff was left in his boxer-briefs and his mouth was all over my body. I was certain things were going to continue when he all of a sudden stopped and sat up. Sat up next him and looked at him, shocked. "What the hell's the matter?!" It came out more harsh than I had initially meant it to.  
  
"I don't know. I all of a sudden had a memory of us wrestling on the floor of the locker room like a couple weeks after we had met and I couldn't get that picture of you out of my head. Granted I was in love with you then, but it just wasn't the same as it is now," Jeff said scratching the back of his head.  
  
"So what does this all mean?" I asked slightly upset.  
  
"Oh sweetie, you're upset aren't you?" he asked.  
  
"Jeff, just tell me what this all means," I said unable to look him in the eye.  
  
"I don't know. It's just weird," Jeff shrugged.  
  
"Does this mean that we'll never be able to, um, yeah, ya know," I said shyly.  
  
"No, baby, I'm sure it'll pass over. I just, I dunno. I mean this is all for the best right now anyways," he smiled.  
  
"How do you figure? I mean hell Jeff. I was all worked up. I was completely ready!" I exclaimed.  
  
"I have no condoms," he laughed.  
  
"Oh, well, that'd be an easy problem solver. I know for a fact that Shane always has some just in case," I said casually.  
  
"Ya know, sometimes you have a habit of sharing WAY too much," he said as he kissed my cheek. "Well, I'm wide awake and have A LOT of energy." He winked at me and all I could do was laugh at him.  
  
"So what would you like to do with all that energy, Mr. Hardy?" I asked as slid my body onto his lap.  
  
"Go change into one of your hot bathing suits and we'll go make a late nite trip to the pool," he smiled. I smiled at him before kissing him tenderly and jumping up to grab my blue camo bikini. "Alright, I've been meaning to ask for sometime now. Are you turning into a Dudley girl or what?!"  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked.  
  
"Baby, you've got this whole blue camo thing goin on. Who else do you know that where's camo all the damn time?" he laughed. I rolled my eyes at him as I walked into the bathroom and changed.  
  
*********************  
  
"Shane, can ask you a personal question?" I asked him as we hung out in the arcade down the road from our hotel. I leaned against the Pac-Man machine and sighed.  
  
"Sure. You know me, I'm an open book!" he smiled as his eyes continued to be fixed on the classic game.  
  
"Was there ever a point in our relationship where you thought you couldn't have sex with me?" I asked. Shane's reaction caused me to laugh. He practically fell into the game machine, causing his game to be all screwed up. He smudged the screen with his face and almost fell to the floor.  
  
"What the hell would make you ask that?!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Are you okay?" I asked through my laughed as I tried to help him up. He brushed himself off and smiled.  
  
"Yeah I'm fine. And to answer your question, no. There was never a moment when I couldn't or didn't want to have sex with you. I mean you know me! I'm the sex machine. I make all the girls scream my name. They all get a sugar rush when I get done with them," he replied going on a whole spiel about how great he is in bed.  
  
"Yeah, alright. Chill Mr. Sauva," I teased him. "Seriously, like was there ever a moment when you would look at me, like right before it all happened, and just saw me as someone you just met or messed around with or someone you were just friends with?"  
  
"Casey, there was never a point in our relationship when I didn't want to be with you. I always loved that intimacy that we had. I mean damn! You always knew how to get me hot and I loved it!" he smiled.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really. Now, why did you ask that bizarre question?"  
  
"Well, um, uh, I don't think I should say. I think I should just keep it quiet and to myself," I said as I started to walk out of the arcade.  
  
"Whoa, Case, did something happen between you and Jeff last nite?" he asked as he ran after me. He stopped me on the street as I wrapped my arms around myself. I looked at the ground as he put his hands on my shoulders. "Casey, what's wrong? And don't tell me nothing. I was your boyfriend for almost 3 years, I think I can tell when you're lying!"  
  
"I don't know, it is probably nothing," I shrugged as I tried to wipe away my tears before he noticed I was crying.  
  
"Casey, what the hell did he do to you?" he asked as he wrapped me in his arms tightly, just like he had that nite when Randy and I had that fight and we had kissed.  
  
"He didn't do anything. That's the problem," I sighed as he pulled away from me.  
  
"Come on, let's go into star bucks and you can tell me about it over a frappuccino," he smiled. With his arms wrapped around my waist we walked into the star bucks and he bought me a mocha frap. We sat at a table together in the coffee shop and talked. "Are you gonna tell me what happened now?"  
  
"You really don't wanna know. I don't think you're ready to know yet," I sighed.  
  
"You two were gonna have sex for the first time, right?" he asked looking me straight in the eye.  
  
"Um, yeah," I said slowly.  
  
"Alright, so now that I've gotten that out of the way, what happened?" he asked.  
  
"Shane, I'm serious. I just got you back as a close friend. Are you sure this isn't gonna fuck it up?" I asked.  
  
"Case, you're the one that brought it up in the arcade. If you honestly thought it was gonna fuck things up, would you have asked?" he asked wisely.  
  
"I hate you," I smiled.  
  
"Right, so what happened?"  
  
"Well, we were goin good. We had it goin really hot. I was down to my underwear, he was in his.............."  
  
"CASE! I don't need to know the specifics!" Shane interrupted with a disturbed look on his face.  
  
"Sorry," I apologized. "So anyways, I figured last nite was gonna be the nite. We were finally gonna go to the next step in our relationship. But then he just stops and sits up."  
  
"What the hell is wrong with him!!? If there's a beautiful woman under me like that who's ready and willing, there's no way in hell I'm passing that chance up!" he laughed.  
  
"Shane, please," I scowled.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"So I ask him what's wrong and he says that he can't stop thinking about the way I used to be when he first met me. Like one specific memory came into his head. Where he and I were wrestling on the floor of the locker room like a couple weeks after we met. Actually I believe it was after our first phone call," I smiled.  
  
"I remember that phone call," he smiled. "Somehow I knew that we would be a big part of each other's life."  
  
"But anyways, that's what happened and he couldn't go through with it," I said. "Besides the fact that he didn't have any condoms."  
  
"Yeah, well, I have plenty," he shrugged.  
  
"That's what I told him," I laughed.  
  
"Come on, we gotta get to the arena," he said as we left the star bucks.  
  
"Shane."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"What can I do to help him get over that?"  
  
"I don't know baby. I don't think there's really anything you can do. Just keep being you and I'm sure he'll get over it. I'm sure you'll have that one special nite very soon," he smiled as he brought me close to his body and kissed the top of my head.  
  
"I love you Shane."  
  
"I love you too Angel."  
  
*********************  
  
"I heard you talked to Shane about our issue," Jeff sighed as I flopped down exhausted on our bed in our home.  
  
"Um, yeah, I'm sorry, I just, he's my, are you mad?" I stumbled.  
  
"I understand why you did it. But why Shane? Why not Amy? Or Trish? Or even Stacy?!"  
  
"I don't know. Cause I wanted to know if it had ever happened to him I supposed," I answered.  
  
"And?"  
  
"No, it hasn't."  
  
"So basically what you're telling me is that I'm a freak," he sighed as he sat on the bed with his face in his hands. I crawled behind him and rubbed his shoulders comfortingly.  
  
"No, Jeff, you're not even close to being a freak. It's just something that happened. Maybe that's the fault of being friends before lovers," I replied as I kissed the back of his neck lightly.  
  
"Explain Shane then."  
  
"Shane and I weren't really friends before we started goin out. Hell, a couple weeks after the start of our relationship we were having sex, so there wasn't much room for friendship at first. That all started during the relationship really," I said.  
  
"I feel so stupid. Maybe there's just something wrong with me."  
  
'There's nothing wrong with you. Maybe it just wasn't the right time. We'll know when it's supposed to happen. You can't really rush this kind of thing."  
  
"I know, but I just feel like it's time."  
  
"It'll happen baby. I love you too much for it not too." 


	19. Bad Religion

A/N: After much thought, it took me long enough, I've decided to use Godsmack's song "Bad Religion" as the new entrance song for Shane, Jeff, and Angel's entrance. So, yeah, there it is. I had a really hard time and then finally I was listening to ALL my Godsmack music and it popped out at me. That's also what they're goin by now, Bad Religion. So I pretty much owe all this to Godsmack. lol Okay, so this is Soap Box time for me again. AND BEGIN! There's this guy that I've liked for.............um, 4 years now and I haven't been able to tell him. He's a senior in high school right now so I haven't seen him for a year. For 4 years I always had this feeling that he liked me just as much as I liked him but we were both too shy to tell each other. So this past year I pretty much blocked him into the back of my mind. Then all of a sudden a couple weeks ago I had a dream about him. I went to the store with my mom and he walked in with his friend Jeremy. Now, Jeremy is my next door neighbor and we used to be like brother/sister. Anyways, they start acting all weird when they saw me and started talking with each other in whispers. They used to always do this to me. Like ALL the time. And it always bugged the hell outta me cause they would always give me these bizarre side ways glances. Anyways, I tried my best to listen in and found out that they were talking about how much he liked me in the past. I get fairly upset and run out of the store. This guy follows me out and chases after me. He catches up and I confess everything to him and we pretty much let everything out. I start to cry and he takes me in his arms and all that good stuff. Bizarre, right? So since then, he's been in my head. I come home this weekend and find out that I have to go to my nephew's graduation. They both go to the same school and are friends. So now I have to go see him graduate and possibly spend the afternoon with him at my nephew's grad party. I seriously don't know what I'm gonna do. I don't think I can handle this. I was almost in tears when I woke up after that dream. How am I gonna deal with seeing him again? And will he even care to see me again? I just can't help thinking all these questions. And to chica, you're gonna be fine!! Have faith in yourself. Believe in yourself. I believe in you and I'm sure many others do too! Just trust me that everything is gonna be fine! If you feel upset, just go see your chained up men...........hehe. Anyways, on with the chapter, then I have to go tend to my caged man! (Inside joke) OH! Lindsay, don't forget that at some point I get Jeff for a bit. lmao  
  
*********************  
  
'Get back  
  
Can you feel I'm not like you anymore.  
  
I can't see,  
  
I can't breathe.  
  
See you quiver like the dogs on the street,  
  
Looking down on as I beat you.  
  
Oh, it's a bad religion,  
  
From a broken nation.  
  
It's a contradiction,  
  
And I can't take it anymore, yeah.  
  
"Introducing the challenger, being accompanied to the ring by the other two members of Bad Religion, one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions. Weighing in at 215 lbs, SHANE HELMS!!" The three of us all slid into the ring and bounced on the ropes. They held their tag team belts up high, while I held my women's belt up and had my hardcore belt around my waist.  
  
Who's ta say I wont like you anyway?  
  
Take a deep breath,  
  
I'm alive.  
  
Can you hear me,  
  
I'm alive inside you.  
  
Agony creeps up behind you.  
  
Oh, It's a bad religion (Bad religion)  
  
From a broken nation (A broken nation)  
  
It's a contradiction,  
  
And I can't take it any fucking more  
  
We all stood in front of Lita, Matt, and Shannon, having a stare off in the middle of the ring. Shane handed his belt to me after kissing it for good luck.  
  
It' a bad religion (bad religion, bad religion, bad religion)  
  
From a broken nation (Broken nation)  
  
It's a contradiction.  
  
Yeah.  
  
Can you feel it?  
  
I gotta live with it everyday  
  
And I can't take the pressure.  
  
I'm goin insane,  
  
Now go away  
  
Go away  
  
The three of us hit fists and I kissed Shane's cheek before we all left Shannon and Shane in the ring. They locked up and the match was on its way. Jeff and I cheered Shane on while keeping our eyes on Lita and Matt. We knew that at any minute they could make an attack on us or interfere in the match. Neither of which we wanted. Lita eyed my women's championship belt and shook her head. She slowly walked towards me and I backed up, not really wanting a confrontation. She smiled and turned back to Matt as Shane slowly went for the pin. Matt and Lita both jumped in the ring and stopped the pin. Jeff and I went right into the ring and joined the brawl. The ref called for the bell and Shane won via DQ. The ref tried to break us up, but had no luck. It wasn't until we heard Shane-O Mac's music when we stopped.  
  
"WHOA!! What the hell is goin on here?!" he yelled as we all stopped and looked up at him. "I'm sick of all your crap! You six fight more than anyone else, in and OUT of the ring. I'm sick of it! I've had enough! We are going to end this all at No Mercy!"  
  
"But we have a tag match!" Jeff, Shane, Shannon, and Matt argued.  
  
"Now, I know that there's a battle for the WWE Tag Team Championship between you. I'm just going to alter the match a bit. Now instead of it being a battle between just you four men, it's going to involve you girls too. Whoever wins the match on Sunday nite wins the championship. All three of you will be Tag Team Champions. But Angel, you'll also be putting your Women's Championship on the line. If Lita happens to pin you, she'll be champion once again and they'll be tag champs. If you pin Lita you remain the Women's champion and Bad Religion will be tag champs. Now, I know this is kinda confusing. But trust me, it'll be great. But Lita, don't think that if Angel gets pinned by Matt or Shannon that you'll be the new Women's Champion, because you won't be. YOU have to pin ANGEL. If she gets pinned by Matt or Shannon she keeps the belt," Shane explained with a mischievous smile. "Good luck on Sunday!" He turned around while his music played and disappeared. The six of us stood in the middle of the ring and glared at one another.  
  
"Can you believe with RAW GM, Shane McMahon has just done?! He's going to make the Tag Team championship into a three person tag battle!" King exclaimed.  
  
"I just hope these six very talented young people are up to the challenge," JR said as RAW went off the air. Shane, Jeff, and I were the first to leave the ring, slapping people's hands on our way out.  
  
"So what do ya'll say? Denny's?" I asked as Amy, Matt, and Shannon caught up to us.  
  
"Nah, we have plans tonight," Jeff smiled as he wrapped his arm around my bare waist.  
  
"We do?" I questioned confused.  
  
"Yeah, we do," he winked. I shook my head at him and followed Amy into the Diva's locker room.  
  
"What's he planning?" I asked.  
  
"I really couldn't tell ya. I had fully planned on us all goin to Denny's tonite," Amy shrugged.  
  
"He's been acting really weird today," I sighed as I pulled a sweatshirt on over my dark purple tank top.  
  
"I noticed that. Did you guys get into a fight or something?" Amy asked.  
  
"No, not at all," I replied packing up my bag.  
  
"When are ya'll leaving for Phoenix?" Trish asked as she came out of the showers.  
  
"Early in the morning. We're driving. No sense in flying when the drive is only like 6 hours," Amy answered.  
  
"Oh, hmm, I need someone to go with. Is your car packed?" Trish asked.  
  
"Yeah, sorry. It's me, Matt, Case, and Jeff. I think Shane and Shannon might have some room if ya wanna go with them," Amy said.  
  
"Thanks. Ya know, we don't spend a lot of time together anymore. We should really hang out. I miss you guys," Trish smiled.  
  
"Yeah, soon, maybe," I returned the smile.  
  
"Has Shane started seeing anyone since your break up?" Trish asked curiously. I stood up straight and put my hands on my hips after throwing my bag over my shoulder.  
  
"Um, I don't think so. He hasn't really gone home though. So he'd have to try and date someone from the road," I replied. "Why? You interested?"  
  
"No, I was just wondering," she replied softly.  
  
"Well, I'm going. Amy, I'll see you at, what? 5 am?" I asked.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes," she laughed as I walked out of the locker room.  
  
"Ya ready to leave, baby?" Jeff asked grabbing my hand tightly in his.  
  
"Um, yeah, but what's goin on? What plans do we have?" I asked.  
  
"I just want to give you an early birthday present," he smiled as we walked into the warm Houston air.  
  
"An early birthday present, huh?" He shook his head and I smiled. "And what would this present be?"  
  
"Shh, it's a surprise," he whispered.  
  
************************  
  
"Well, you two look WIDE awake," Matt laughed sarcastically as Jeff and I met up with him and Amy in the lobby of the hotel.  
  
"Matt, I do not have the energy for you this morning," I yawned as Jeff checked us out.  
  
"Late nite?" Amy winked at me. I just rolled my eyes at her and headed for the car.  
  
"Hey, we'll see you guys in Phoenix?" Shane asked tiredly while getting into the rental's driver seat.  
  
"Yeah," I smiled happily at him.  
  
"And did you and Jeff have an interesting nite?" Shannon laughed.  
  
"Don't mess with me Moore. I'll kick your ass even as tired as I am," I threatened as I leaned down to Shane's ear. "I'll talk to you later?" He nodded at me and I took my seat in the back with Jeff. I watched Trish tiredly sit in the back of the car Shane was driving and practically fall asleep instantly. Matt drove and Amy navigated, while Jeff and I slept in the back the whole way, only stopping at Dunkin Doughnuts for some munchkins and some coffee.  
  
"I don't understand what all this is about us bein on Smackdown tonite," I spoke suddenly while stretching.  
  
"What are you doin up?" Amy laughed.  
  
"As if I could sleep through this crappy music. Anyways, back to what's goin on tonite," I said.  
  
"We're trying to bring the two companies back together again. We're kinda the first to "defect" if you will. Just like with the alliance I suppose," Matt answered.  
  
"So does this mean we do both shows now?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah. We have Smackdown and RAW every week, plus any RAW house shows we're scheduled for. I don't think we'll be doin any Smackdown house shows for awhile. But we're all gonna be so worn out!" Amy said.  
  
"Like I'm not worn out enough?" Jeff said lifting his head off my shoulder.  
  
"You'll be fine. You've been doin well lately," I smiled sweetly at him.  
  
"Only because you're with me," he replied kissing me tenderly.  
  
"Oh gross! Gag me!" Amy exclaimed as I slapped the back of her head playfully. "Hey watch it! Neck injury here!"  
  
"Yeah, like 2 years ago!" I laughed as Matt pulled into a McDonald's. "What are we doing?"  
  
"Getting some breakfast food," Amy replied stepping out of the car just as Trish stepped out of the car next to us.  
  
"Didn't we already do that at Dunkin Doughnuts?" I asked looking at Jeff as he shrugged. I shook my head and followed everyone else into the McDonalds.  
  
"Did you get all rested up?" Shane asked as he sat next to me in the booth.  
  
"Ah, I could do with some more sleep," I smiled. "Don't you wanna eat?"  
  
"Yeah, Trish is grabbing me something. So tell me about what happened," Shane said.  
  
"Alright, so Jeff and I go into our hotel room last nite and the most amazing thing happened. He never once thought about us wrestling in the locker room or any other friend/brother/sister type thing we might have done in the past. We finally did it," I smiled.  
  
"Ah, I see," Shane replied quietly.  
  
"I'm sorry, that was rather insensitive of me to speak about it with you," I apologized.  
  
"Nah, it's okay. I'm glad things worked out for the two of you. I can't think of two people that deserve it more," he smiled hugging me tightly. "There's one thing I have to know though, is he bigger than me?"  
  
"SHANE!" I exclaimed slapping his arm playfully.  
  
"Hey, it's a guy thing!" he laughed.  
  
"Size is not important," I smiled.  
  
"Oh my God, he is!" Shane said.  
  
"I'm not saying anything," I replied shaking my head.  
  
"Alright, is he better than me?"  
  
"Better how?"  
  
"Better in any way?"  
  
"He's definitely got skilled hands. Your mouth is a little more skilled. But other than that, I'd say you both are level with each other," I said just as everyone joined us.  
  
*****************  
  
A/N: Please excuse this lame chapter. It sucks and I realize that. I'm just trying to get it finished. It's not going as well as I had quite expected it. But I won't just end it, don't worry. I'm gonna fight through it. I really am. So again, sorry for this crappy chapter. 


	20. Defect

A/N: I'm so sorry that this story is taking so long to get updated. I just can not think of anything to write. The worst part is that I have the end practically done in my head! Lol By the way, get ready for a third part. I think that it just may be continued. This damn thing is gonna be a trilogy! And you know what happens in a trilogy, right? EVERYBODY DIES!! HAHAHA!!! Nah, just playin. Just some Scream humor for ya'll. But assuming that I do do a third story, it'll be shorter than these two. And the song I used in this chapter is "Haunted" by Evanescence. How much do they rock?! Oh and I just got the new Cold CD. Totally awesome. And there I go again, plugging other people's shit. I'm telling ya, they should be payin me for this! I have to tell ya'll a little story. I went to the mall yesterday with a friend of mine, and I pulled her into Hot Topic. Now this girl is a total country small town girl. Ya know the one's I mean. The ones that only listen to the poppy music. Not that there's anything wrong with that, cause there isn't. I mean hell, I'll often listen to the stupid Top 40 stations. But anyways, we walk in there and there's this hottie working there. He's so massively cute! And he said hi to us and shit, ya know, did his job. So we're looking around and she spots a pair of black leather wrist cuffs. She's like, I could hold up my sleeves with these! I turn around to her and go, oh my God. You so totally don't belong in this store! And she's like, no I don't. She really wasn't enjoying the store. It was really bad. The guy must have thought she was nuts for stepping foot in there and me for allowing her to! Lol So then I find this totally awesome Superman shirt. It's black and the Superman logo is in silver. It's awesome! So we leave and go to the ATM so I could get some cash and we start to go back in the store and the guy is out working on the sale rack. He smiles at us and goes, hi.............again. We're like, hey and I grab my shirt and a pair of blue flame shoe laces. They're so totally AWESOME!! Totally match my cell phone cover and now they're on my black boots. So it's pretty cool. But I was so flirting with the guy. Man was he a cutie. I should have grabbed an application to work there! That store has some cuties in it! lol And for those of you who read that fucked up chapter for Connection. God bless you! Lol That thing seriously took me like 2 hours to update. And then once I finally finished, I was so fucked up, I felt as if I was high! And Lindsay and I decided that it makes much better sense if you're high or on a natural high. Anyways, here's the next chapter.................FINALLY!!  
  
****************************  
  
I walked through the arena, saying hello to many of the Smackdown wrestlers. I knew that I had to make a pit stop into the guys' locker room, for old time's sake, before I moved onto the Diva's locker room. The room was practically empty. There were showers running and bags all over the place, but no people. I decided to sit in there and wait for someone. Moments after I had settled on the bench, the door opened and Adam walked in. He immediately dropped his bags when he saw me and wrapped me up in his arms.  
  
"How's the God mother of my son?" he asked with a large smile kissing my cheek.  
  
"I'm great. How are you doing?" I chuckled.  
  
"Great kiddo." He put me down and moved hair off my face. "I'm so glad we'll be on the same show."  
  
"Me too. I can't wait. I'm happy that we're merging back together. I get to spend time with ALL my men now!" I said as I sat on the bench.  
  
"Well, since you're here now, I'll give you your birthday present," he said digging through his duffle bag.  
  
"You didn't have to get me anything. Being God mother to Michael is enough," I smiled.  
  
"I had to get you something. I know you'll love it," he replied handing me a wrapped birthday gift. I shook my head but unwrapped it anyways.  
  
"How the hell did you get this?! This CD isn't supposed to be out for another couple of weeks!" I exclaimed after kissing his cheek thankfully.  
  
"Well, I am friends with the man. I asked Rob if he could get me an advanced copy and he said of course. So here it is. Of course he got me one too," Adam laughed.  
  
"You got this straight from Rob Zombie?!" I said shocked.  
  
"You know that we're friends and shit."  
  
"This is great. Thank him for me," I smiled as I examined the CD cover.  
  
"Open it," Adam nodded at the CD. I tilted my head to the side and did as I was told. On the inside was a note from Rob Zombie himself.  
  
"He signed it for me?!"  
  
"That's his gift to you," Adam laughed. "I knew you'd love it."  
  
"You bet your ass I do!" I hugged him one more time as Brock Lesner walked out of the showers.  
  
"Things seriously never change around here do they? You're still hanging out in the damn men's locker room instead of your own!" he laughed as water dripped off his built body. I swear the man gets bigger everyday.  
  
"With me around, you can bet that I'll be in here!" I laughed. "Do ya'll know where Dad is? Is he at the ring like normal?"  
  
"You didn't know?" Chris Benoit asked as he had caught the end of my question when he walked in the door.  
  
"Know what? Is he okay?" I began to ask with panic obvious in my voice.  
  
"Case, he's fine. It's just that he's not here anymore," Chris said.  
  
"Not here anymore?!" I exclaimed.  
  
"What the crippler here is trying to say is that he's not here right now. He's out for awhile. Ya know how he has elbow problems," Adam explained more clearly.  
  
"Why didn't he tell me they were acting up again?!" I said throwing my hand roughly on my hip.  
  
"Maybe he just didn't want you to worry kid," Brock said.  
  
"Well, I'd better go. I got some things to do before the show tonite. I'll see ya'll later," I said as picked up all my gear, making sure I had the cd in my hand. "Thanks again for the CD Adam. I really appreciate it."  
  
"Not a problem kiddo," he smiled as I left.  
  
I walked down the hall, my arms crossed, as I frowned, trying to think of why Dad wouldn't tell me he was having problems with his elbow again. All of a sudden I heard Shane's voice and I looked up immediately, smiling brightly. If there was one thing I could count on it was always Shane to cheer me up. So as I began to run towards him I noticed he was with some girl. I stopped dead in my tracks and examined this stranger. Her hair was mid-back length light brown. Her eyes were a piercing blue, so blue they looked like they could turn water to ice. Her skin was a warm tan color and flawless, almost porcelain like, but not pale. She had on a pair of low rise flares, much like the ones I used to wear and at times still opt for when not in my ever famous cargos or bondage style pants. Her pale pink shirt was rested on the top of her belly button, just barely showing off her thin stomach. She had a small rose tattoo on her lower stomach that just peeked out over her jeans. I watched carefully as I saw her reach up to kiss his cheek softly, while holding hands. For some reason something in my stomach lurched and I suddenly felt like I had a ball stuck in my throat.  
  
"Casey, Casey, CASEY!" I heard a scream behind me and turned around instantly. Rey was there with open arms, ready to hug me. I smiled slightly and kissed his cheek. "What land were you at, chica? I've been calling your name for like 5 minutes now!"  
  
"Sorry Rey, I just got a little distracted. How are you doing?" I asked as I started walking down the hall with him.  
  
"Fine. I'm feeling great. My ribs have completely healed now, so I'm cleared to wrestle tonite," Rey stated. I knew he was speaking, but I couldn't pay any attention to him. Every once in awhile I'd give him an uh- huh, and look over my shoulder back at Shane and this mystery girl. "So Dom is now recovering from his broken leg. I still can't believe he tried to do a moonsault out of the tree!"  
  
"Huh?" I finally said as we stopped in the hall. I looked at him, tilting my head to the side in confusion and he just shook his head.  
  
"I'll see you later, Chica. Maybe next time you'll be able to pay attention to me, hmm?" he laughed as he walked into a locker room. I sighed and walked back towards the Diva's locker room, noticing that Shane and the girl had left the area.  
  
**********************  
  
I stood in the back with Jeff and Shane, making note to myself to ask him about the girl at some point. I took a sip of water and straightened out my short plaid skirt. I opted for a totally different look. Just to give the Smackdown crowd a heads up for us. The outfit was complete with fishnets, knee high boots, and a ripped up tank top adorned with bobby pins. A tech nodded at me, telling me it was my time to get into position to run in on Torrie and Nidia's match. Jeff kissed my cheek and told me to watch my skirt, telling me to make sure it didn't flash anyone in the crowd. I just laughed at him and responded with, "That was the whole point to wearing this Jeffrey." With a slight playful slap to his cheek, I left him with Shane laughing at him. I stood and waited for my cue, my music to hit, complete with my new Titantron and pyro.  
  
'Long lost words whisper slowly to me  
  
still can't find what keeps me here  
  
when all this time I've been so hollow inside  
  
I know you're still there'  
  
My music began and I took a deep breath, shaking out my crimped hair. My pyro shot out of the stage in what seemed like blue fire as fog began to cloud up my entrance, making it impossible for anyone to tell who I was. Both Nidia and Torrie stopped in mid move as they heard all this and looked towards me.  
  
'Watching me wanting me  
  
I can feel you pull me down  
  
fearing you loving you  
  
I won't let you pull me down'  
  
The fog slowly cleared, revealing me standing on the stage with my hands on my hips, a grin so wide on my face. A look of horror struck their faces as they remembered the chaos I caused the last time I was there. Knowing that that was exactly what was going through their minds, I let out a laugh, similar to the laugh I had then.  
  
'Hunting you I can smell you - alive  
  
your heart pounding in my head  
  
watching me wanting me  
  
I can feel you pull me down  
  
saving me raping me  
  
watching me.'  
  
Walking down the ramp I smiled at them and around to the announcer's desk, the desk that I at one time had called home. I sat down and put on the head phones, waiting for the match to continue.  
  
"Mystic Angel, what are you doing here?!" Michael Cole asked almost as if he feared the answer.  
  
"Cole, be a little bit more polite. We have one of the most beautiful and talented divas sitting with us!" Tazz scolded. I smiled at Tazz and then focused my attention on the match.  
  
"Tazz, when ever she's here, it's never a good thing! Her name may be Angel, but she sure as hell doesn't act like one!" Cole exclaimed as the Torrie controlled the match.  
  
"Cole, I've changed. I'm not that little ball of chaos that I was when I was last here. I'm just what my name says I am, an Angel," I laughed.  
  
"We shall see, we shall see," Cole said before getting back into the match. Just as Torrie was about to pin Nidia, I jumped up from my seat and did Halo's Twist onto the both of them. Laying them out, one on top of the other, which got a massive pop from the males in the crowd. I stood over them and laughed before rolling out of the ring and walking back up the ramp to my music, only to be stopped by Lita.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are, Angel?! Do you think you can just go around interfering in matches?!" she yelled into a microphone.  
  
"Listen Lita, this has nothing to do with you. And you wanna know who I am?!" I exclaimed as she nodded. "I'm WWE women's champion. I am WWE hardcore champion. And I am soon to be part of the WWE tag team champions this Sunday!"  
  
"Well aren't you little miss cockyness?!" she laughed. "You three will be losing those tag titles this Sunday. And as for your women's title, well that's as good as mine!" I glared at her as she threw the mic down and turned around. I stood rooted to my spot and crossed my arms, before walking to the back.  
  
"Hey Ames!" I called to her, trying to catch up to her.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked stopping to wait for me.  
  
"Earlier I saw Shane walking around with some girl. Who is she?" I asked.  
  
"Don't know, you'd have to ask him yourself," she smiled before speeding off to meet up with Matt in catering.  
  
"If I didn't feel like such a fool, I would!" I said.  
  
*******************************************  
  
"Happy birthday Case!" I walked into mine and Jeff's hotel room in LA, the nite before the Pay Per View. I smiled at the small contingent of people that sat in the room. 'They all must have done this while I was at the gym,' I thought as I looked around the room that had a few blue, purple, and black balloons and a Happy Birthday banner. On the table sat a small round cake complete with candles and presents sat on the floor.  
  
"You guys didn't have to do this!" I laughed throwing my gym bag on the floor.  
  
"It's not everyday that our girl turns 22!" Shannon smiled kissing me lightly on the cheek.  
  
"Thank you," I said graciously. "I definitely think I like these close nit type birthday parties than those huge ones!"  
  
"They're easier to plan too!" Matt exclaimed causing Amy to slap his arm.  
  
"We would have done a big one, but we had no place to do it," Amy smiled.  
  
"This is perfect. Just my close family. Matt, Ames, Shan, Shane, and of course dumbass over there," I joked as Jeff rose from his seat on the bed.  
  
"That's not what you were calling me last nite," he smirked. My eyes grew wide in shock before I pushed him back on the bed, right on Shannon's lap.  
  
"I love ya man. Really I do. But not this way. And if you don't get off me soon, there's going to be a Smackdown right here in this room!" Shannon laughed.  
  
"So what'd ya'll get me?!" I asked excitedly as they started to throw gifts at me. I had gotten some clothes from Amy and Matt, mostly from Amy cause Matt's a loser when it comes to clothes. Shannon had given me a new pair of wrestling boots, which were identical to my original pair. Then came Shane's gift. He had gotten me a Titan's fleece blanket. I just laughed.  
  
"Hey, I had to give you one so that you wouldn't complain about using mine at the game," he smiled.  
  
"Game? What game?" I questioned as a ticket fell out of the blanket.  
  
"Redskins vs Titans. We've got tickets baby. Just you and me, on the 50 yard line, battling for who kicks ass more!" he laughed.  
  
"And of course the Titans will be victorious!" I said.  
  
"In your dreams!" he exclaimed.  
  
"And I got you this. It's not much, but I thought you might enjoy it," Jeff smiled nervously. I unwrapped a beautiful painting of tribal designs in blues, purples, blacks, and silvers, mainly my colors.  
  
"It's beautiful, Jeff," I smiled.  
  
"You really like it?" he asked folding his hands in front of him.  
  
"Yeah, I do. Did you do it?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, I've been working on it whenever possible," he laughed.  
  
"Thank you," I kissed him tenderly. "Thank you all!"  
  
"AWE!!" They all exclaimed as we got hooked into a massive group hug.  
  
"I love you guys!" Shannon joked with fake tears and the whole deal. We cracked up at him and started in on the cake. 


	21. Hardcore Loss

"I'm gonna be on the Wayne Brady Show," I sang knowing it was getting on Matt's nerves. Amy just sat in the car silently laughing.  
  
"I will not kill her. I will not kill her," he chanted quietly as he lifted his hand from the steering wheel to smooth back his hair. Jeff slept silently as he was deathly tired from winning a massive battle at the pay per view. That's right, Bad Religion were Tag Team Champs and I was still Women's champ.  
  
"I'm gonna be on the Wayne Brady Show," I continued.  
  
Matt slammed his hands down on the wheel and let out a low growl causing Jeff to wake. "Jeff, if you don't shut her up now, I'm gonna kill her!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Why?" Jeff groaned tiredly.  
  
"She's annoying Matt," Amy spoke finally letting out her laughter.  
  
"Baby, you're on the Wayne Brady Show at 10 then have a match on RAW. It's almost 1 in the morning, go to sleep," Jeff ordered as he fell back to sleep.  
  
"Nobody let's me have any fun!" I pouted.  
  
"Casey, I love you, but if you don't shut up, I'll have to cause you bodily harm," Matt warned.  
  
"You mean like you did tonite?" I smiled.  
  
"Oh you're so gonna get it!" Matt exclaimed letting a soft chuckle loose.  
  
"Chill Matt, she's just using her little sister status to her advantage," Amy smiled.  
  
"If she keeps it up she's not gonna be anybody's little sister for much longer," Matt threatened as I leaned forward, resting my chin on his shoulder.  
  
"You love me and you know it!" I said sweetly.  
  
"And you're lucky I do," he laughed. "Now get some sleep."  
  
I leaned back and rested my head on Jeff's lap and with a smile on my face I quietly sang, "I'm gonna be on the Wayne Brady Show."  
  
"Casey!" Matt yelled.  
  
**********************  
  
I stood in my dressing room with Jeff, matt, and Amy, beginning to get nervous from the thought of being on my first talk show. My light blue, green, and purple hair had been crimped and held back with a bandana I had designed. I looked in the mirror and straightened out my black cut up tank top that covered a hot pink tube top and made sure my flares were low enough.  
  
"Babe, if you lower them anymore they'll be around you ankles," Jeff joked rubbing my shoulders gently.  
  
"I look okay?" I asked turning around to face them all.  
  
"You look fine," Matt nodded.  
  
"Do I play the Mystic Angel bit or myself?" I asked nervously.  
  
"Be yourself. You'll do fine. Just picture this all happening in the ring," Amy said.  
  
"Casey, we're ready for you," one of the techs said. I let out a deep breath and Jeff kissed my cheek softly. I followed the tech down the hall and waited for my introduction.  
  
"My next guest is not only one of the most beautiful women in the wrestling business, but she also kicks major butt. She's currently the holder of the WWE Women's Championship, Hardcore Championship, and 1/3 of the Tag Team Champs Bad Religion. Let's take a look," Wayne said as a clip of me doing a Halo's Twist on Jericho for the Intercontinental title played. "Please welcome, WWE's Mystic Angel." The audience clapped for me as the band played their best version of "Haunted". The minute I walked out, a few men stood and whistled. I smiled and waved at the crowd as I walked to Wayne. He hugged me and kissed my cheek before we sat down. "Wow, thank you for being on the show."  
  
"Thanks for having me," I smiled.  
  
"WE LOVE YOU ANGEL!" the men yelled.  
  
"Love ya'll too," I laughed.  
  
"I'm sure hearing that never gets old," Wayne smiled.  
  
"Not at all!"  
  
"You must have quite the Angel following."  
  
"I like to think so. It pays to be the Hardy Boyz girl at times," I laughed.  
  
"So what should I be calling you? What do your friends call you? Mystic? Angel? Ang? What?"  
  
"Actually most of them call me Casey."  
  
"Gotcha. So, Casey, it seemed like you just jumped into the wrestling scene when you started winning titles."  
  
"Yeah, I was the youngest women's champion at age 19 and had only been wrestling for about 4 months when I won my first title. And since then I've had every title but undisputed and heavy weight."  
  
"So basically you've had every title but the big ones."  
  
"Basically. I don't think people are ready to see a woman at the top of this business yet."  
  
"You're one of the most talented female wrestlers, excuse me, Divas, I've seen. You've set a new level for the upcoming Divas."  
  
"Thanks for the compliment, but I'd prefer to be called a female wrestler. Divas still are looked at as eye candy like Torrie, Stacy, and Nidia. To me, I'm a female wrestler like Trish, Victoria, and Molly. We're here to show people that we mean business and can kick ass while being beautiful."  
  
"Well I think you show that very well," he said. "Mystic Angel has gone through many stages. You've been everything!"  
  
"I know! I've tried everything at least once. I guess my looks and personality changes on screen are just my personal evolution off. I mean you can tell what type of character I'm gonna be by my entrance music. Like when I was a heel, or bad person for all you non-wrestling people, I came out to "Sacrilege" by a totally awesome band Otep. It was a rougher song and it showed that I wasn't the Angel sent from heaven everyone thought I was. And then I have Evanescence's "Haunted" which is softer, so it shows that I'm a sweeter girl and stuff like that. But you can always tell how I'll be by my music that's why it's constantly changing."  
  
"How'd you get into wrestling?"  
  
"Well I had been a fan for a few years and being a wrestler was always in the back of my mind. I met the Hardy Boyz in Boston when I was an 18 year old runaway and they, along with so many others, trained me. I started out as a photographer, then was Matt and Jeff's valet, and now I'm a wrestler."  
  
"Training must have been horrendous. I bet you're glad to be done with it."  
  
"Actually, I'm still in training. I go out with some of my friends once a week and just train. I'm constantly learning new moves. I actually love it."  
  
"I was reading the Hardy Boyz book years ago and they have like a 10 page chapter all about their relationship with you."  
  
"You read it?! Wanna tell me about it cause they wouldn't and still won't let me read the book," I laughed.  
  
"Well, it seems like you three have a very close relationship. Almost as if you're all family."  
  
"Yeah, they kinda adopted me. I even call their father Dad. I live with them and everything. It's a great place for me, I didn't have the best living situation, so I welcomed it with open arms."  
  
"You also have one of the most feared men looking aft you, correct?"  
  
"Oh yeah," I replied letting out a quiet giggle. I smiled brightly. "The Deadman himself, the Undertaker."  
  
"He's gigantic and very frightening!"  
  
"Yeah, he's almost 7 ft tall. But he's always been a father to me. And his wife is close with me. I'm seriously their daughter's older sister. He's always looked after me and worried about me. He's a teddy bear deep down."  
  
"A LARGE teddy bear," Wayne joked. "You seem to have a large family."  
  
"Oh yeah, I do. Edge is my brother. He stuck up for me when I had some other issues. Plus I'm the God mother of his son. Chris Jericho and Christian are my annoying older brothers," I laughed. "And then there's Shannon Moore and Rey Mysterio. Shannon's my partner in crime."  
  
"Triple H has told me about some of the pranks you two have pulled on him. You've made him look like a fool in the past."  
  
"Oh he's not as innocent as he may have made you believe he is. He gets us back everytime. It's a never ending cycle."  
  
"Let's get into relationships. I'm sure every guy out there is dying to know, are you single?"  
  
"No I'm not. Jeff Hardy and I have been together for almost 3 months now."  
  
"Really? I heard you were with Shane Helms."  
  
"I was."  
  
"How long was that relationship, if I may ask?"  
  
"It would have been 3 years September."  
  
"Wow. So keeping it in the company? Are there a lot of relationships between wrestlers?"  
  
"Some, but not as many as you'd think."  
  
"You obviously like it better."  
  
"It's good with the long distance aspect because you're traveling together but a break up can screw things up. It can cause a bit of tension between wrestlers."  
  
"Speaking from experience?"  
  
"Um, kinda, yeah."  
  
"Well I hope things with you Jeff continue," he smiled as I nodded at him. "Now injuries are a problem for wrestlers, especially your style. Have you had any major career threatening injuries?"  
  
"Just fear," I joked. "For being the extreme lucador I am, I've been very lucky. I've been knocked out a couple of times, some concussions, a few stitches, a broken wrist, sprained ankle, a few pulled muscles, and a couple bruised ribs. Nothing major."  
  
"What exactly does extreme lucador mean?"  
  
"Well, I fly. I do a lot of aerials and acrobatics. Um, I'll jump off pretty much anything. I have like no fear anymore. I live for hardcore matches and beating my opponents with weapons. It's dangerous, but the crowd loves it. People have called me the female Jeff Hardy and in many ways I am. But I like to think I have my own style."  
  
"I was watching RAW one nite and heard that you sang on Jeff Hardy's entrance music. I had no idea you could sing."  
  
"That was my dream for the longest time. Music has always been a part of my life and, like I mentioned before, I think I show that every couple of months when I walk out to a new song. But I now do the National Anthem at every RAW house show and even sang a little bit on a Fozzy song for their new album."  
  
"You were in a music video, weren't you?"  
  
"Yeah, Jericho who's the lead singer for the band Fozzy had my boyfriend of the time, Shane Helms, be in the video. Shane dragged me to the set and Chris convinced me to be in the "With the Fire" video."  
  
"Would you like to sing us out to commercial?" Wayne asked handing me a mic.  
  
"Um, sure. Ya'll know "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera?" I asked the band. They nodded and I began to sing.  
  
"Thank you for being her," Wayne smiled.  
  
"Thank you for having me. Was I alright though? This was my first talk show and I have admit I was a bit nervous," I said biting my lip.  
  
"You did an excellent job. You'll come back?" he said hugging me. I nodded and walked back to my dressing room.  
  
************************  
  
"There's our little talk show star now!" Chris exclaimed as I walked down the hall, Jeff's fingers intertwined with mine.  
  
"You guys saw?" I asked with a smile as he lifted me off the floor.  
  
"Yeah, you did really well," he smiled kissing my cheek.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"I especially loved how you called me your annoying older brother," he said standing with his hands on my hips.  
  
"Yeah, um, sorry?" I smiled.  
  
"Yeah, uh-huh. I just bet you are," he laughed.  
  
"So I'm annoying older brother, huh? Hmmm, what does that make you?!" Jay asked coming out of the locker room.  
  
"Your sweet and adorable little sister?" I asked sweetly.  
  
"It's a good thing you are so adorable, cause otherwise I'd have to hurt you," Jay laughed.  
  
"Right, I'm sure," I joked.  
  
"Paul is trying to kill me!" Shannon yelled as he ran by the group of us. I turned around and watched him run down the hall.  
  
"Okay, I am so NOT involved in this one," I smiled.  
  
"Where the hell did he go?" Paul stormed up to us.  
  
"What happened?" Jeff asked.  
  
"He put my tights in the dryer," he smirked sarcastically holding up a pair of black tights. They were half the size they had been before.  
  
"Oh my God," I laughed putting my hand over my mouth. "Go Shan!"  
  
"Run, now," Paul warned. I quickly kissed Jeff's cheek and took off down the hall after Shannon. Paul started laughing as Jeff, Jay, and Chris stared at him. "I had these specially made. He didn't do anything. But I am!"  
  
"Oh man," Jay laughed slapping Paul's shoulder.  
  
"Jeff, wanna give me her bag?" Paul asked.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'm taking her CD player for a little bit," he smiled. Jeff shook his head and handed it over.  
  
"I never saw it!" Jeff said walking off.  
  
I caught up to Shannon, both of us out of breath, and I leaned against the wall that he was sitting in front of. I looked down the hall that I had been running down and shook my head when I noticed Paul wasn't following. "So what did we do?" I asked.  
  
"You mean you don't know?!" Shannon asked shocked.  
  
"If I did, I wouldn't have asked you," I replied putting my hands on my hips.  
  
"I thought you did this," Shannon sighed.  
  
"I haven't done anything to him for like a month. Hell I just got here!"  
  
"Apparently we shrunk his tights. His only pair of tights for the nite."  
  
"This man has to learn to bring an extra pair with him," I laughed.  
  
"No shit. But you didn't do this?"  
  
"No, Shan. I didn't. You didn't either?"  
  
"Not my kind of work. He just burst into the locker room and threw em at me. I threw em back and he was yellin at me. I figured you did it and blamed it on me."  
  
"I wish I could take the fall for this one, cause it's pretty good."  
  
"Then why the hell were we runnin from him?"  
  
"Fear," I said quickly. Shannon nodded before we started laughing hysterically.  
  
"What do you think he's doing to our stuff?"  
  
"God only knows! This was a slick trick though. I'm surprised he was able to think of something like this."  
  
"We should probably get back and see what kind of shit he's done," Shannon laughed as I helped him to his feet. We walked back to our locker rooms and started to get ready for the show. I had gotten dressed and was to go out in 15 minutes, so I searched for my CD player and CDs for my pre- match ritual. When I came up empty handed I began to get panicked. I ran across the hall and burst into the guy's locker room.  
  
"Baby, what's the matter?" Jeff asked putting his hands on my shoulders.  
  
"My CD player and CDs are gone. I can't find them," I said, my hands trembling.  
  
"Did you put them in a different bag?" Shane asked.  
  
"No, they're always in my gym bag. But they're not here now!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Well, you don't have time for them now. You gotta get out there for the match!" Jeff pushed me out of the locker room. Nervously I walked to the curtain carrying my Hardcore belt.  
  
"Case, you alright?" Mike, one of the sound guys asked.  
  
"No, I couldn't find my CDs," I said as I felt a large pit in my stomach.  
  
"Chill, you'll be fine," he said.  
  
"I hope so," I stuttered. "Haunted" hit and I slowly walked out there trying to put on a brave face.  
  
"The following match is scheduled for one fall and is for the WWE Hardcore Championship. Entering the ring first from Cameron, North Carolina, the current Hardcore Champion, MYSTIC ANGEL!" I handed over my belt to the ref and waited for my opponent. "And the challenger, weighing in at 220 lbs, MAVEN!" He slid into the ring after grabbing a chair, I was ready for him and drop kicked the chair into him. I slid out of the ring and pulled out a ladder. I slid it into the ring and he pushed it back into my chest. He tried for the pin outside of the ring, but I kicked out. He pulled me up and into a scoop suplex. Pulling me up by my hair, he whipped me back to the ring and I rolled inside. He went up top and tried for an elbow drop, but I had moved out of the way. I pulled him up and brought him down onto the chair in a DDT. I did a Rolling Thunder and pinned him only to have him kick out on 2. I pulled him back up and whipped him into the ropes. On his return I locked my legs around his neck and pulled him down in a headscissor. I grabbed his arm and applied an armbar. I hoped for him to tap but he rolled over and went for a quick pin. I kicked out and he picked me up. He threw me down in a powerbomb. Pulling me back up he whipped me into the corner and stood on the second rope for a set of punches. I picked him up and brought him down in an atomic drop. I jumped up to the top rope and did a Senton onto him. Instead of going for the pin I rolled out of the ring and grabbed a broom handle. When I stood back up, Maven was waiting behind me and pulled me down across his knee in a backbreaker. I grabbed at my back as he hit me with the broom handle. He pulled me up and while holding my head slammed me into the steps. I wasn't concentrating and forgot to block it with my arm. Blood gushed out of a large slash across my forehead and flowed down my face. He covered me for the pin and won. He had beaten me for my most favorite belt, the Hardcore belt. I held my head as I sat up to watch him walk up the ramp with my belt. I pulled my hand away and saw that was covered with blood. Getting a sudden felling of sickness, I felt as if I'd faint. The ref helped me up the ramp and to the back where a medic was waiting for me.  
  
"Casey, what the hell happened?" Jeff asked as he rushed to me while the medic was trying to bandage my head.  
  
"I was so distracted by missing my CDs that I didn't block the step shot," I answered.  
  
"This bandage isn't gonna cut it," the medic said.  
  
"I really don't wanna get stitches," I whined.  
  
"We can try the liquid stitches. I'm not sure how well they'll work with this kind of cut, but it's worth a shot," he said as cleaned the area.  
  
"Um, Case, there's something you should know about the CDs," Jeff said shyly.  
  
"Jeff, can this wait? I have to get her to first aid to get this taken care of," the medic said helping me to first aid. Jeff sighed and went on a man hunt for Paul.  
  
"So this was all because you couldn't do your pre-match ritual?!" Nick exclaimed almost in laughter.  
  
"Shut up," I said sternly as he applied the liquid stitches.  
  
"You need to get your priorities straight," he joked.  
  
"I hate you," I glared at him.  
  
"Well, you're done. If it doesn't hold, go to the emergency room. If you can manage to get there without your CDs," Nick teased.  
  
"If I wasn't so sore and tired, I would kick your ass," I growled as I jumped off the table. He laughed as I walked out of the room and down the hall. "What an ass. Who does he think he is by teasing me? When I get my hands on whoever took my CDs, I'm gonna strangle them!"  
  
"Death threats aren't going to get it back," Paul laughed as I walked by him leaning against the wall.  
  
"YOU!!! I should have known!!" I yelled placing my hands on my hips. "Give em back!"  
  
"You can have them back if you find them," he smiled.  
  
"You're such a fuckin asshole. I blame this all on you!! Just wait till I get you back. It's gonna be the best prank ever!" I exclaimed as I walked down the hall in search for the my stuff. 


	22. Rest in Pieces

A/N: Hey ya'll! I just had a few things to say. Um, well, ya remember me speaking about Matt? The guy that I like that went off to the army? Well, he's comin home in a month!!! I'm so excited!! He hated it and found some way out. I'm not sure how, but he did. So he'll be back. Jessy and I are getting back onto good terms. I have to go get my bridesmaid dress for her wedding in August. So that's a plus. I'm so close to getting my license! YEAH BABY!!! WOO!!! I'm also goin to my 3rd WWE show, 2nd one this year, at the end of the month. I have no clue who's gonna be there. They're not releasing a card. I have some ideas, but that's it. I have 4th row tix to see the SD guys. OH!! And the most bizarre thing, Vince McMahon is gonna be there!! The man doesn't do house shows!!! And then to come to Augusta, Maine?! Back woods Maine? That's massively bizarre. So I'm guessing it's gonna be a kick asshis show! Oh, I got the crap scared out off me Sunday nite. I was sitting at my computer reading a very awesome story which I've already read before but wanted to read again and watching some stupid movie on Sci-fi called Dagon. Anyways, I had to get into a different position so I pulled my left leg up onto the desk. I had been like that for a little bit and was comfortable. Then all of a sudden my right foot started itching. So with my left arm, since I have fairly long arms, reached down to scratch it under my left leg. Well, I wrenched my arm or something. It was the worst pain ever imaginable. I have never been in such pain before and I've had some bad injuries. Well, I'm sitting straight up in my chair and I start to feel sick. Then my vision went all blurry. I was like all wobbly. Then the next thing I know I shoot right up into a sitting position like I had been shot out of a cannon or something. I looked around me and realized I had blacked out. I was so freaked out. I couldn't figure out what happened to me. The movie was at a whole new part in the story and that's how I figured out that I had blacked out for a good 2 minutes. After that I felt fine, my vision was back to normal, and my arm was no longer killing me. I had never been so freaked in my life. I've never blacked out from pain before. If I didn't know any better I would have said that I had dislocated my shoulder just from the pain I had. If that tells you how bad it was. Guess who I've been having dreams about. Actually, don't cause you never will get the right answer. First off, one nite I had a dream involving Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho, and are you ready for this one? Chris Benoit! How the hell does that happen?! And no, it wasn't a sex dream. I haven't had one of those involving Chris or Jeff yet. Shane yes, but not them two. And last nite I experienced a Chris Benoit sex dream!! AH!!! I don't think that's natural. Really I don't. He's just not, well, ya know. So that's my sicko mind for ya. But yeah, that's my news for the time being. Um, this chapter is pretty much surrounded by a song, the song "Rest in Pieces" by Saliva. Here's the next chapter!  
  
*******************  
  
'Look at me, my depth perception must be off again'  
  
"So, know what you're gonna do to Paul yet?" Shane asked as we found our seats on the Titan end zone.  
  
"No, I'm still trying to figure out the best prank ever," I answered with a smile. "I can't believe these seats!"  
  
"Yeah, they would have been better if I could have gotten the ones on the 50 yard line," he replied with anger.  
  
'Cause this hurts deeper than I thought it did'  
  
I looked over at him and laughed. It had to have been the coldest day ever in Tennessee, but we were prepared. We looked like a couple of Eskimos, bundled up in our Columbia coats, scarves, gloves, hats/earmuffs, and of course our respective team blankets draped on our bodies. By half- time, I couldn't feel anything. My body had gone completely numb from cold. Somehow Shane knew this and pulled me into his body holding me tightly, rubbing my arms to warm me up. I probably should have pulled away, but I was too comfortable and he was keeping me warm. When the game ended, the Titans had won 23 to 17. It was the best game I had ever witnessed, probably because my team had kicked ass.  
  
"Thank you," I said breaking the silence in the car as we drove to the airport after the game to fly home. 'Home,' I thought. '3 days to be home and relax.' A smiled formed on my face as I thought.  
  
"For what?" he asked.  
  
'It has not healed with time'  
  
I looked over at him somewhat confused and realized he was replying to my comment. "For the game."  
  
'It just shot down my spine'  
  
"No problem. I had a good time. Even if my team did lose," he scowled playfully.  
  
"Well obviously the better team won," I gloated.  
  
"Luck. It was pure luck," Shane said pulling into the rental car parking lot.  
  
"They didn't need luck to beat the Redskins. The Redskins suck it up to all the teams! It was an easy win!" I teased.  
  
"Easy my ass," he muttered.  
  
"So what are you doing during this short vacation?" I asked.  
  
"Nothing important," he answered quickly. "You?"  
  
'You look so beautiful tonight'  
  
"Just catching up on some much needed downtime with Jeff. Probably just lay in bed the whole time. He's been getting kinda burned out again," I replied with a sigh.  
  
"Yeah, I've noticed he's been a little off lately."  
  
"Yeah, he definitely needs this time off to mess with his music, work on the yard, tend to the animals, and just not think about wrestling," I nodded to myself. I smiled although I was scared deep down. This wasn't the first time Jeff had gotten like this. And every time he did he threatened to quit. I knew it'd be hard to travel without him, to be away from him for long periods of time, to not have him by my side. It scared me to think that this time he could just very well quit. That his threats might actually not be threats. I wasn't too positive our relationship would or could last through those kinds of absences. 'Casey, you idiot! He's your soul mate. Of course it'll last!' Those thoughts were the only thing keeping my fears at bay.  
  
'Remind me how you laid us down'  
  
*****************  
  
"So what are we doin today?" I asked rolling over in Jeff's arms as the sun shown brightly through the window and the wind blew the curtains slightly. He opened his eyes and smiled slightly, tightening his hold on me.  
  
"Not a thing," he replied softly.  
  
"So we're gonna just lay around in bed all day?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, maybe dirt bike or do some painting. But that's about it," he said his smile faded.  
  
"Oh, okay," I sighed as Luna jumped off the bed and ran out the door. "You sure you don't wanna get out and do something?"  
  
'And gently smiled before you destroyed my life'  
  
"I'm positive. Case, I just need a few days to recuperate. This is all starting to take its toll on my body again."  
  
"I know, I just don't know if I wanna spend the whole day in bed," I said sitting up.  
  
'Would you find it in your heart'  
  
"Well, what about havin Matt and Amy come over. We'll have like a BBQ tonite or something. Maybe even have Shane, Shannon, Crystal, and Kimberly over."  
  
'To make this go away'  
  
I turned my head around and stared at him when he mentioned the name Kimberly. "Who the hell is Kimberly?!"  
  
"Um, well, she's um, you don't know?" Jeff stuttered.  
  
"If I did, I wouldn't have asked!"  
  
"Kimberly is Shane's new girlfriend. I thought you knew about her. They've been together since the beginning of October. They have a history together. She's here. She's um, she's from Arizona."  
  
'And let me rest in pieces'  
  
"Why didn't I know about her?!"  
  
"I don't know. I thought everyone knew."  
  
'Would you find it in your heart?'  
  
"So he's been keeping a girlfriend from me for almost 2 months?!"  
  
'To make this go away'  
  
"Looks that way. Listen, I just found out two weeks ago. They've been tryin to keep it secrete I guess."  
  
"I'm taking a shower!" I exclaimed as I walked out of the room.  
  
'And let me rest in pieces'  
  
**********************  
  
I walked down the stairs into the living room to join Matt, Amy, and Jeff. I had been in a state of confusion since that morning's new findings. I couldn't believe Shane had a new girlfriend and I didn't know anything about her. I pretty much spent the day moping around the house.  
  
'Would you find it in your heart?'  
  
"I can't believe they're already moving in together," I heard Matt say. I stopped and listened to their conversation.  
  
'To make it go away'  
  
"Shh, Casey just found out about her this morning. I told her cause I thought he told her about Kim," Jeff replied.  
  
"You mean he didn't?! Wow, that's not like him. Why wouldn't he tell her?" Amy asked.  
  
"God only knows. Sometimes his head isn't in the right place. And it's getting more frequent that it's in the wrong place," Matt shook his head.  
  
'And let me rest in pieces'  
  
"So, who wants to play Mortal Kombat against the reigning champ? Moi?" I smiled stepping in the room.  
  
"I'll play," Matt challenged. I nodded at him and pretended to look for the game.  
  
"Damn it! I forgot. Shane has it. I'll be back in a few hours!" I said as I ran out the door.  
  
"Where's she goin?" Jeff asked watching me leave in a hurry.  
  
"To get Mortal Kombat from Shane," Amy said.  
  
"But we have it. It's right there," Jeff pointed to the disk that sat on top of the TV.  
  
"Oh shit. She must have heard us talking about Shane and Kim. How much ya wanna bet that she's goin to interrupt their move in day?" Matt asked.  
  
"I'm with you on that bet," Jeff sighed.  
  
I drove down the road as fast as I possibly could. I needed to find out what was going on and who this Kim chick actually was. I couldn't help wonder why he wouldn't tell me about her. What would make him keep their relationship secrete from me?  
  
"They can't be moving in together! They just can't be!" I exclaimed to myself as I slammed my hand down on the wheel.  
  
'Case, why do you care? He's not yours anymore. You gave him up for the man of your dreams,' my thoughts spoke to me. They were right. I did drop him, for Jeff. But it still didn't make any sense. I pulled into his drive way and noticed there was an extra car in the driveway, with a small U-Hal trailer attached to it.  
  
'Look at me, my depth perception must be off again'  
  
I got out of the car and slowly walked up to Shane's door. I could hear the soft laughter of who I assumed to be Kim's. I knew deep down that I didn't want to do this, but I needed to. I needed answers and I needed them now. I slowly knocked on the door, even though he had insisted that I didn't have to.  
  
"Just a minute!" I heard her yell.  
  
She opened the door with a bright smile, dressed in a tank top, faded jeans, and Nikes. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had on glasses. I noticed she was my height as she continued to smile at me. "Hi, can I help you?" she asked softly.  
  
"I'm, well, never mind," I said as I turned to go back to the car.  
  
'You got much closer than I thought you did'  
  
"Are you looking for Shane?" she asked. I turned back to her and her smile was still intact. I wanted to walk up to her slap it off her face.  
  
"Baby, who is it?" Shane asked walking to the door. His mouth dropped open as he stared at me.  
  
'I'm in your reach'  
  
"Case," he said sounding shocked.  
  
"Oh you're Casey!" she exclaimed with excitement. "Shane's told me so much about you. I was hoping to meet you when you all were in Arizona but he told me you were too busy. I'd love to get to know the girl that I hear about all the damn time."  
  
'You held me in your hands'  
  
I ignored her, pretending like she wasn't standing next to him with her arm around his waist. I looked into his brown eyes and resisted the urge to cry. I didn't know what was wrong with me or why I felt like I did. I had no reason to feel sick at the sight of them.  
  
'Would you find it in your heart'  
  
"I'm Kimberly," she said reaching her hand out to me. I looked down at it and smiled slightly, shaking it gently. "It's so nice to meet you."  
  
"Yeah, you too," I replied looking past her to Shane's eyes once again.  
  
'To make this go away  
  
And let me rest in pieces'  
  
"Case, what are you doin here? I thought you were spending the day with Jeff," he swallowed hard. He looked just as uncomfortable as I felt.  
  
'Would you find it in your heart?  
  
To make this go away'  
  
"I um," I couldn't really speak. I was in too much shock.  
  
'And let me rest in pieces  
  
Would you find it in your heart?  
  
To make it go away  
  
And let me rest in pieces'  
  
"Why don't you come in?" Kim offered.  
  
"No, I should probably go. It was nice meeting you," I smiled as I turned to the car. I scratched the back of my head then rubbed my forehead.  
  
"Case, wait!" Shane called causing me to turn around. "Why don't you go finish unpacking Kim? I need to talk to Case for a few."  
  
"Sure," she said reaching up to kiss his lips.  
  
'But could you find it in your heart?'  
  
"Why didn't you tell me about her Shane?!" I exclaimed once she shut the door.  
  
"I don't know. I just couldn't," he replied looking at the ground.  
  
"I don't understand!" I said trying with all that I had to keep my tears at bay.  
  
'To make this go away'  
  
"I don't know. I wanted to. I just never found the right time to do it," he said.  
  
"And now she's moving in with you?"  
  
"Yeah, she is."  
  
"I gotta go," I said quickly.  
  
"Casey, please!" Shane said pulling me around to face him. He put one hand on my shoulder and the other one my chin, raising my head up towards his.  
  
"I'll see you later," I said as I broke free from him and practically ran to my car.  
  
'And let me rest in pieces'  
  
Shane watched me speed out of the driveway before going back in the house. It was the weirdest thing. It was almost as though I was jealous. I guess I always figured he'd be there in case I needed him. In case Jeff and I called it quits. Seeing him with Kim brought me back to reality. A reality in which I suppose I didn't really want to live in. Again I was stuck in a sort of love triangle. Although I suppose it could now be considered a love square with the addition of Kim. I know had to tell myself that I had lost him, I had finally lost Shane to another girl. She was where I had once been. She was where I had once called home. Home, that was with Jeff now. But I couldn't get the pictures of Shane and Kim being together. That was something I knew I wouldn't be able to get over quickly.  
  
'Would you find it in your heart?  
  
To make it go away  
  
And let me rest in pieces' 


	23. Blackout

A/N: Please totally forgive me for lack of updates on both my stories. Damn stupid fuckin ff.net is like non-working. So I have not been able to do anything. Seriously, no uploading. Like they tell me that my document has been uploaded, but when I go to check it, it says there's not documents uploaded. So ff.net sucks. Plain and simple.  
  
**********************  
  
"I still think we should install an in ground pool and hot tub," I told Jeff as he flipped through a MotoX magazine. He placed it on the hotel bed and crossed his arms.  
  
"Babe, we've been over this. We already have a pool," he replied.  
  
"Jeff, I wouldn't consider a mud hole in the middle of the track a pool," I said crawling up the bed and placing my head on his chest. He ran his hands through my hair and smiled.  
  
"We'll see," he said.  
  
"Thank you!" I kissed him excitedly as someone knocked on the door.  
  
"I'll get it." Jeff climbed out of the bed and opened the door a bit. "Hey Shane."  
  
"Hey man."  
  
"Ya wanna come in?"  
  
"No, but is Case around?"  
  
"Yeah," Jeff said turning to look at me. "Casey, Shane wants to talk to you."  
  
I sighed and slowly dragged myself to the door. "Hey."  
  
"Can we get some coffee and talk?" he asked. I nodded and grabbed my coat off the dresser.  
  
We were sitting in a little coffee shop before I broke the uncomfortable silence. "So, what'd you wanna talk about?"  
  
"I think we should talk about what happened last week."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me about her?"  
  
I don't know. I just couldn't."  
  
"How did this all happen?"  
  
"Alright, I'll start at the very beginning. And let me get to the end. Don't say anything till I'm done," he started. He took a deep breath and continued. "In WCW we went to Arizona, my first time, and I met Kim at a bar after the show. She was telling me that it was her first time being with a wrestler and that she was trying to work her way through college."  
  
"She's a ring rat?!"  
  
"Case, please. She was a ring rat. But I couldn't let her go. We had some sort of connection. Kinda like you and me."  
  
"Don't you DARE put me in the same category as a ring rat!" I exclaimed angrily.  
  
"Casey shut up and just listen to me. We kept in touch and we decided we wanted to try bein together. So she quit bein a ring rat. Not long after, we decided that the distance thing was just too much to handle. We still talked to each other and kept a friendship. When you and I split up, I knew I wanted her back. So we decided moving in together would be the best thing."  
  
"I can't believe this."  
  
"Can't believe what?!"  
  
"I can't believe you'd be able to get over our relationship like that!"  
  
"Oh! So it's alright for you to move on and find someone new immediately, but not me?! That's quite the double standard, wouldn't you say?!"  
  
"Oh whatever Shane!"  
  
"Casey, you make no sense! You can have Jeff, but I'm supposed to be alone and watch you move on with your life?! Bull shit!" he argued. "You just don't want me to be happy and have someone!"  
  
"That's not it!" I yelled. "I thought you'd always be there! Be there for me! Be there in case my relationship with Jeff dies!" I had finally confessed it. And now that I had, I wished I could have taken it all back.  
  
"So basically you want me to be single so you could come running back in case of a problem?! Well, kiddo, I hate to tell ya, but I can't and will not wait for that to happen."  
  
"You called me kiddo."  
  
"So?!"  
  
"Shane, does she call you Sugar? And do you call her Angel?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah Casey."  
  
"It's really over. I can't believe it," I said softly shaking my head in disbelief.  
  
"Case, it was over when you went to Jeff that nite."  
  
"Oh God. I've really lost you. You're not mine anymore."  
  
"And I haven't been for almost 4 months now."  
  
"I gotta go," I said tearfully as I grabbed my coat and ran out the door.  
  
"Well that didn't go as well as I had hoped," he said angrily watching me run towards the hotel.  
  
"Casey, what's the matter?" Shannon asked looking me up and down as I stood in the hall hugging myself, tears running down my face. He put his arm around me and pulled me into his room. "What's wrong kiddo?"  
  
"It's over Shan. Completely over," I sniffled resting my head on his shoulder.  
  
"What's over?"  
  
"Me and Shane. We're done."  
  
"Casey, isn't that what you wanted?"  
  
"No, well yeah, no, I don't know."  
  
"Case, I thought that when you went to Jeff, you had made your decision. The decision to be with Jeff and not Shane. Was that not what you wanted?"  
  
"I don't know anymore Shan. I mean I love Jeff more than you can even imagine. But Shane is still a very big part of my life. This all like a bad dream."  
  
"You can't handle Shane having someone new."  
  
"I'm a bitch aren't I?"  
  
"No, you're just in love."  
  
"No shit Shan, tell me something I didn't know!"  
  
"You're in love with Jeff. Shane is just an ex that you still have strong feelings for because you were together for almost 3 years. 3 years, Case! That's massive. Hell, some marriages don't last that long!"  
  
"Do you believe in mine and Jeff's relationship?"  
  
"Yeah, I do. I believe in you two. I think you two are gonna be the couple everyone always wanted to be. You guys are gonna go far," Shannon smiled down at me before kissing my forehead. "You feelin better, kid?"  
  
"No, but oh well. I gotta pick up and move on," I sighed standing.  
  
"You're gonna make it kid. You're too strong not too," Shannon called after me as I left for my own room. I walked down the hall with my head down and ran right into a large muscle mass. I sighed and rolled my eyes before looking up.  
  
"Ya know, it helps to walk with your head up."  
  
"Randy, don't start with me, I'm NOT in the mood for your shit," I replied as I tried to walk by him.  
  
"Hey, who ran into who and then rudely didn't even apologize?" he snapped.  
  
"Oh gee Randy. I'm so sorry," I said smiling sarcastically, "that I had to run into an asshole."  
  
"Casey, ya know, that's kinda weird that you're the one that cheated on me, but yet you still have the nerve to call me an asshole."  
  
"Oh get over it! That happened 3 years ago!! Jesus, Randy. When are you gonna move on?!" I exclaimed throwing my hands up and slamming them down at my sides.  
  
"Ya know Case, I really liked you. Really liked you. You played with me. I was your little toy. I was like some pawn in your game of life."  
  
"Randy, we're all pawns in life. Deal with it. Life's hard, get a helmet!" I said knocking him in the head. I turned and walked into the open elevator, he followed. "God, can't you get a different elevator?! Or take the stairs maybe?!"  
  
"Why, when it's more fun to bug the hell out of you?" he smirked. "I'm glad Shane got some sense knocked into him. He's a great guy and deserves a great girl. And from what I could tell, Kim's a great girl. I hear she's better in bed than you too!"  
  
"You asshole!" I exclaimed as I unleashed a fury of punches on him. Suddenly the elevator jerked to a stop, causing me to fall into him. The emergency light was the only light visible.  
  
"What the hell is goin on?!" Jeff exclaimed as he stood with Matt and Amy in the darkness of the hotel room.  
  
"Black out man. Looks like the whole city is out," Matt said as Trish walked into the darkened room from the hall. "You alright Trish?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, but what's goin on? All the emergency lights are on," she said.  
  
"We don't know," Amy said as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Where's Shan?"  
  
"The floor below us," Jeff said looking out the window next to Matt.  
  
"Dudes, this is massively weird!" Shannon exclaimed bursting into the room with Shane.  
  
"Shane! Weren't you with Case?" Jeff worried.  
  
"She left a while ago," Shane answered.  
  
"You mean she's not here? She left my room like 5 minutes before this all happened," Shannon said.  
  
"Oh my God, where the hell is she?!" Jeff cried as he ran into the hall.  
  
"Dude, where you goin in such a hurry?" Rob asked as he watched Jeff rush down the hall.  
  
"Have you seen Case?" Jeff asked.  
  
"No, sorry, why?" Rob answered.  
  
"No one knows where she is," Jeff replied. "Damn it! Where's Chris?"  
  
"Um, room 245," Rob said pointing down the hall. Jeff nodded at him and ran down the hall.  
  
"What's the matter?" Chris asked answering his door to a furiously worried Jeff. Jeff walked into the room and paced.  
  
"Casey's gone. No one knows where she is. Nor has anyone seen her since like 10 minutes ago," he said.  
  
"Jeff, I haven't seen her. Have you tried Adam's room? Or John's? She may be over in Mark's hotel with him, Sara, and K," Chris said.  
  
"No, K's sick so Sara flew back to Texas. And then Mark's off tonite, so he went to the next town this morning," Jeff exclaimed. "I just hope she's alright."  
  
"I'm sure she's fine. No one would dare mess with that rough tough cream puff," Chris joked. Jeff just gave him a stern look. "Man, I'm sure she's fine. Just go back to your room and I'm sure she'll show up."  
  
"Yeah, maybe you're right. Thanks Chris. Let me know if she comes by though?" Jeff asked as he started for the door. Chris nodded at him and watched Jeff leave.  
  
"You can get off me now," Randy said gently. I looked up at him and moved back, crossing my arms tightly. "You alright?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "What happened?"  
  
"I don't know. The elevator stopped."  
  
"Oh gee! Ya think?!" I snapped.  
  
"Chill alright. I really would hate for them to find two people here and one being just a body!" he exclaimed as he started playing with buttons.  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't push those buttons. What if they trigger something?"  
  
"Case, that's what I'm goin for."  
  
"I mean in a bad way dumbass."  
  
"Well, if we don't try something, we could be stuck in this elevator, TOGETHER, for a very long time, and I don't know about you, but I can't handle that," he smirked. I glared at him before bumping him to the side and pushing the buttons myself. He slid down the wall and sat on the floor.  
  
"UGH!!! This fuckin sucks!" I yelled as I slammed my fist into the wall. I sighed and sat on the other side of the elevator, across from Randy.  
  
"Well, who would have thought that the two of us would be stuck in an elevator together, hmm?" he smiled.  
  
"What are you smiling about? I don't find this funny or fun. There's definitely no reason to smile."  
  
"There's also no reason to get your panties in a bunch either. We just have to sit here and wait it out."  
  
"Great, like this day hasn't sucked enough," I muttered.  
  
"Maybe this will give us a chance to talk and be honest with each other," he said. I looked up at him. His blue eyes were just as piercing as I remembered them being. His face was beautiful and tan, causing his eyes to pop out more. His dark hair gelled into place like normal, despite his sloppy look. Dressed in a pair of track pants and a sweatshirt, a pair of Nikes on his feet. Not the normal wear for Randy Orton.  
  
"Talk about what?"  
  
"About you, me, Shane, Jeff, the relationship, what went wrong, and would it have really lasted," he replied moving to sit right in front of me.  
  
"Ask and maybe I'll tell."  
  
"That's what I'm hoping for. Cause honestly, you're the one in the wrong, not me."  
  
"Oh bull shit. You had some wrong in there too!"  
  
"Alright, let's lay down some rules for this discussion. Rule number one, no fighting."  
  
"Rule number two, no lying," I said.  
  
"Rule number three, NO NAME CALLING!"  
  
"Oh come on!"  
  
"Case, no name calling. No calling me an asshole, dick, dumbass, bastard, mother fucker, no calling me any of that."  
  
"Fine, don't call me a bitch, slut, whore, or any of that."  
  
"Agreed." We shook on it and each took similar large breaths. "Basically, why'd you go out with me the first time if you were with Shane?"  
  
"I wasn't with Shane. We had gone on one date and that was it. I didn't know if we would go any further with our relationship or not. Truthfully, I hoped we would, but when you asked me out I was excited and he told me to go for it. But he also told me that there was no guarantee that he and I would have anymore dates because of our one. But then we hit it off and you kissed me, and I gotta admit, your kisses are some of the top in my life."  
  
"That's right. I'm a women's man."  
  
"Don't start."  
  
"Sorry. So what happened?"  
  
"That nite that you over heard me telling Shane that I really wanted us to be together, my feelings for Shane soared. I mean it. I saw him and that was it. But I also didn't think it would work because of our age, ya know? That's the main reason I think I went out with you."  
  
"Just because we were closer in age?"  
  
"Yeah, pretty much."  
  
"Did you like me for any real reason?"  
  
"Yeah, you were fun, sweet, HOT, and just a great guy."  
  
"But you still liked Shane more."  
  
"Well, when we became exclusive he was like giving me the cold shoulder. So I thought it was over between us. Completely."  
  
"So what happened to turn things around? Like where did we go wrong?"  
  
"Randy, you pushed yourself on me when I wasn't ready."  
  
"Case, I wasn't trying...........yeah, I was. I'm sorry. But you and Shane hooked up fast, ya know? And I don't understand why you were willing to do it with him and not with me in that short amount of time."  
  
"I don't know. I can't answer that. I guess for the same reason it took me and Jeff 2 months."  
  
"So is that the reason why you really broke up with me?"  
  
"No, well, partly. The main reason was Jeff."  
  
"Of course it was. It's always about Jeff."  
  
"Randy, please. We weren't gonna get upset with each other."  
  
"I know. Continue."  
  
"Well, Jeff was my best friend. We were so close. I seriously loved him more than anyone else. But at the time, at least in my mind, I only considered him a friend. And you told me that if I really liked you, I wouldn't see him anymore. He was family. How could you say that to me?" I said as tears fought to be let go.  
  
"Casey, I knew then that you two were destined to be together. I was trying to keep you from him so you'd fall for me instead. Obviously that plan back fired."  
  
"Randy, it was so hard. You pretty much gave me an ultimatum. Him or you. What was I supposed to do? Jeff was pretty much the only one that understood me at the time let alone being part of my family. He took me in. He loved me. I couldn't throw that away for you. I liked you Randy. It would have worked if it wasn't for that. I know it," I cried hanging my head so he would see my tears. He put his hand under my chin and raised my head. He smiled at me and brushed a tear off my cheek.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I put you through that. I really didn't mean to. I just, I guess it was all jealousy."  
  
"It's okay. I shouldn't have kissed Shane. I should have gone to you with the problem instead. I, well, ya know, I'm glad I did go to Shane though. I really loved him. Part of me still does. Do you forgive me?" I asked as he rubbed my cheek gently with his hand.  
  
"Yeah, if you can forgive me?"  
  
"Yeah, I think that can be possible."  
  
"HEY!! Is there anyone in there?!" Randy and I looked at each other at the sound of the voice and smiled.  
  
"Yeah!! Can you get us out?!" I called.  
  
"We're gonna try! Are you alright?"  
  
"We're fine!" Randy answered. "How long do you think it'll be?!"  
  
"A few hours! Just hang tight!"  
  
"Well, what do we do for those few hours?" Randy asked.  
  
"Tell me about your girlfriends. How many have you had after me?"  
  
"1."  
  
"1? Just 1?! Are you serious?!"  
  
"Hey, it's hard to have a relationship in this business. And all the girls here are pretty much taken."  
  
"Trish isn't."  
  
"Trish isn't really my type. She's too.........hmmm.......girly."  
  
"So? She's beautiful, smart, sweet. What's wrong with that?"  
  
"She's girly! I like my girls to be more active and outgoing. More like you," he finished softly.  
  
"Awe, Randy, that's so sweet," I grinned sarcastically.  
  
"So what's up with you and Jeff?"  
  
"Oh man. I love him with everything I have, but there's still this part of me that loves Shane. But I also know I can't have him because of this new chick, Kim, and because I'm with Jeff. I mean I broke up with Shane right after he had proposed to me and ran off to be with Jeff in the same nite. I honestly don't things will ever be the same between Shane and I. But there's nothing really that I can do about that."  
  
"Shane proposed more than once though, didn't he?"  
  
"Yeah, like 3 or 4 times. Turned him down each time."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I wasn't ready. Not mature enough. In denial about loving another man," I laughed. "Mostly I was just too young. But enough about me. What about you? There must have been more than just that girly reason for breaking up with that other girl."  
  
"Actually, she dumped me."  
  
"Oh really? Why's that?"  
  
"I pretty much blame it all on you."  
  
"What?! What the hell did I do?!"  
  
"A few times I called her Casey."  
  
"You called her Casey?!" I laughed. "What's her real name?"  
  
"Samantha," he muttered.  
  
"Dude, that's not even close to Casey!"  
  
"No shit!"  
  
"So why'd you call her Casey?" I asked choking my laughter.  
  
"After each kiss I saw you instead her. And the worst the part is that you two look completely opposite from each other. You know how you admitted to loving my kisses? Well, I didn't hate yours. So she had enough and broke up with me."  
  
"I can see why," I laughed.  
  
"So, are we friends now?"  
  
"I would think so. I mean we pretty much buried the hatchet right? So we're good right?"  
  
"Right," he gave me a dazzling smile and moved closer to me.  
  
"Dudes! There are two people stuck in the elevator!" Jay exclaimed bursting into the hotel room. Jeff shot up to his feet.  
  
"Who are they?"  
  
"No one knows. We just know that there are two people in there."  
  
"Are they okay?" Trish asked.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Where's Case?" he asked.  
  
"Probably stuck in that elevator!" Jeff yelled.  
  
"Well, ya know who else has turned up missing? I heard this straight from John Cena. He and Randy were supposed to meet for lunch and Randy never showed up," Jay said crossing his arms.  
  
"Oh shit!" Shane yelled. "They'll kill each other!"  
  
"Are they working on getting them out?" Amy asked.  
  
"They're trying to. But without power there's only so much they can do," Jay nodded. Jeff ran out the door and the other's followed him. He stopped in front of the elevator and watched a man working on it.  
  
Randy moved closer and closer to me. His lips met with mine softly. I kissed him back, although I'm not positive why. Embracing each other in a gentle kiss we began to hear voices outside the elevator.  
  
"My girlfriend is in there! You have to hurry up!" Jeff exclaimed trying to rush the poor man.  
  
"Sir, I'm trying my best," the man answered wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.  
  
I heard Jeff's voice and pushed away from Randy urgently. Breathing heavily and shot back to the other side of the elevator. "Oh God! Case, I'm so sorry," he apologized.  
  
"It's just as much my fault as yours," I said calmly.  
  
"Casey! Can you hear me!?" Jeff yelled.  
  
"Jeff?!" I called back standing and walking towards the doors.  
  
"Case! Baby, you alright?" he asked sounding relieved.  
  
"I'm fine! Don't worry about me," I answered.  
  
"You haven't killed Randy yet, have you?" Amy joked.  
  
"No, we're both very much alive," Randy laughed standing next to me.  
  
"Just get us out of here!" I said.  
  
"They're trying Case. You'll be out in no time, Kiddo," Jay called to me. "The guy says that you two are stuck between floors."  
  
"Oh spiffy!" I exclaimed throwing my arms in the air.  
  
"Ma'am, sir, they're working on getting the power back. Apparently it was an overload in the city. Power should be back on soon. Until that time I can't do anything for you. Just hang in there," the man called to us.  
  
"What?! You can't get em out?!" Jeff yelled.  
  
"Jeff, don't worry! I'll be fine. We'll be fine. We've lasted this long. I'm sure we can last a bit longer," I said.  
  
"I love you Case," he said.  
  
"I love you too. I love you so much!"  
  
"Baby, when you get out of there, we're goin out and I'm getting you WHATEVER you want," Jeff laughed.  
  
"Ice cream?" I questioned with a smile.  
  
"Chocolate soft serve in a cone with rainbow and chocolate sprinkles," Jeff chuckled.  
  
Suddenly the lights popped back on and the elevator jolted back into motion, causing me to fall back against Randy. I looked up at him with a smile on my face and kissed him lightly. "I'm sorry Randy."  
  
"Me too Case," he replied hugging me tightly as the doors slowly opened.  
  
I broke away from Randy and jumped right into Jeff's open arms. He kissed me deeply, more passionately than we'd ever kissed before. We broke apart from each other and I looked up into his beautiful green eyes. Hints of brown speckles popped out, like they do when he's upset or weird. That's how I knew I loved him more than anyone else in the world. Whatever I had with Shane was over. That kiss with Randy, that shall never been mentioned again, was nothing more than a trip into the past. I was right where I belonged, in Jeff's arms. 


	24. Jeff Drops a Bomb

A/N: Alright, I still have the writer's block bug. Sorry ya'll. I'm gonna try my best though. Man, I had to go to the hospital to see my grandmother. Not good for me. I felt weak the whole time I sat there. And I practically ran out of the damn place. And it doesn't make it any better that it's a Catholic hospital so you see all these crosses and shit all over the place. Religion isn't something I'm into. lol Good news though, I just watched my Yankees kick the Mets asses! 5-0, total shut out thanks to my Andy Pettitte! Gotta love that man! Mmmhmmm Dudes!! The new Harry Potter book is comin out!!! I'm all happy! I love that book. One of only a few books I can finish reading. So, depending on how long it takes me to read this book, I may not be writing for a bit. lol Anyways, here's the next chapter! Oh and to who ever asked, no that wasn't the last chapter and neither is this one. I'll let ya'll know when it's the last one and that won't be happenin for awhile from what I can see.  
  
****************  
  
A couple months had passed since that incident in the elevator. Shane and I hardly speak, except to discuss matches. It was rather difficult for me, but that's just the way it had to be. But with the bad comes the good. Jeff and I were closer than ever, if that was possible. And Randy and I were friends, saying hello to each other whenever we saw each other. Christmas and Thanksgiving had both passed and we were gearing up for Royal Rumble. It was the pay per view to joining belts together. Chris and Chris were having a match to decide who was going to be the Intercontinental champion because they're combining the US and IC belts together. And Mark and Paul were having a match to see who would end up being the Undisputed champion, I was personally pulling for Mark of course. Then there's the Tag Team Championship match. That was a little more difficult. RAW had three members to that championship, Shane, Jeff, and myself. Where as Smackdown only has two, Adam and John. It was early in the morning the day before the pay per view when I woke up, realizing that I didn't have Jeff's arms wrapped around me. Waking up with a start, I looked around and he wasn't there. I scrunched up my face and decided he probably was out with Shannon so I went back to sleep.  
  
"Okay, we're all up at 7 in the morning for your little announcement Jeffrey, it better be good," Matt groaned as his room was crowded by close friends such as Shane, Shannon, Rob, and Chris. Amy sat on the bed wrapped in Matt's arms as Jeff faced everyone.  
  
He took a deep breath and spoke. "I asked you all here for an announcement."  
  
"Obviously. Would, you please get to it so I can get back to my sleep?" Chris whined.  
  
"Yeah, and why isn't Case here?" Shane asked with a large yawn.  
  
"I haven't told her and nor do I know how. I would also like you all to keep this hushed. I'll tell her on my own time."  
  
"Jeff, what's goin on. This isn't like you to keep something from her," Amy said worriedly.  
  
"I know. But I feel as though I have to this one time." Jeff shook his head nervously as he blurted out his news. "I'm quitting."  
  
"Quitting what?" Shannon asked rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"When the time comes for me to sign my contract again, I will not be doing so. I'm quitting the WWE to work on my music," Jeff sighed.  
  
"Are you fuckin shitting me?!" Matt exclaimed angrily.  
  
"No Matt. I have to quit. My body and mind just isn't in this anymore. I can't continue doing something I don't love anymore. Or love as much as I once did. Matt, I'm not like you. Wrestling isn't my life. It's not the only thing I'm interested in," Jeff tried to explain to his angry brother.  
  
"And you haven't told Casey any of this?!" he yelled standing.  
  
"No, I just can't yet."  
  
"Jeff, she's gonna be devastated!"  
  
"She'll have you guys!"  
  
"She won't have you! You don't know how she was that short amount of time she was on Smackdown while you were on Raw. That killed her! She needs you Jeff. You are the only thing that's right in her life. You know that!" Matt yelled as he closed in on his little brother.  
  
"Listen, I can't deal with this anymore. My body kills. What else am I supposed to do?! Wait it out until my fuckin body just dies on me?! Hell no!" Jeff yelled back.  
  
"Do whatever the hell you want Jeff. You'll do it anyways," Matt growled storming out of the room, no doubt going down into the lobby for the continental breakfast.  
  
"What do you guys think about this?" Jeff asked scratching his head.  
  
"Jeff, it doesn't matter what we think. It's all up to you. We can't do anything about it," Amy shrugged as she followed after Matt.  
  
"All I know is that you need to tell Case. And when you do, be prepared for the consequences. She does need you Jeff. You are her life. And I hope that she doesn't hate you for this," Shane said angrily as he left.  
  
"Shannon?" Jeff asked with a sigh.  
  
"Dude, I personally think you should have discussed this all with Casey first. I hope you can deal with the outcome," Shannon said patting Jeff's shoulder and leaving.  
  
"So obviously I've just fucked up again, huh?" Jeff exclaimed throwing his hands down at his side.  
  
"Well, it's not that I don't agree with what they're saying, but I also know where you're coming from," Chris said.  
  
"I get how your body is killing you man. Really I do, but you definitely should have discussed this with Casey. She's definitely not gonna agree with this," Rob said as he and Chris left Jeff alone in the room.  
  
*****************  
  
"So this is how it's going to work. You and Gail are going to have an impromptu match tonite against each other for the Women's belt. In which you're going to lose it Case," Vince said as the he, Gail, and I sat in his office.  
  
"So basically I'm going to belt less?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, sorry, we need to give some other people pushes. Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to push you to the back," he laughed as I sipped my Frap.  
  
"I can't wait to finally get some gold! You hog it all up!" Gail laughed slapping my shoulder playfully.  
  
"I'm trying to get some new story lines for you Case. So hopefully by WrestleMania, you'll have something new going on," Vince said as he took a seat behind his desk. "You two can go."  
  
"Well, good luck tonite, Gail. You're gonna need it. I intend to make that whole 10 minutes the best possible." I nodded at her and walked down the hall, slipping my hand into the pocket on the front of my sweatshirt. I had a felt a sort of sadness all day, and couldn't figure out why. Something bad was gonna happen to me, but unfortunately, that's all I knew. I just hoped that Paul would be pulling out one of his tricks. But for some reason I knew better than that.  
  
"Hey Case," Shane said stopping me in the hall.  
  
"Hey," I replied giving him a half smile.  
  
"How are you doing?"  
  
"Fine, why?" I asked snottily.  
  
"Because I know that this is gonna be really rough on you," he smiled placing a hand on my shoulder. "I know that we haven't been the closest of friends lately, but just know that I am here if you need me."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" I exclaimed shrugging his hand off my shoulder.  
  
His face fell as he shook his head and walked off. "Shane! Get your ass back here and tell me what's goin on!" I yelled to him as he quickly walked away.  
  
"Casey, I need to talk to you," Jeff spoke to me as he pulled me into a deserted locker room. I reached up, trying to kiss him but he pushed me away.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
  
"I've decided to quit the WWE," he replied.  
  
I burst out laughing, figuring it was all a joke. "That's a good one," I said.  
  
"Case, it's not a joke. I'm being completely serious. When my contract comes up to be resigned, I'm not going to sign it."  
  
"What the hell are you thinking?!" I yelled.  
  
"You have to listen to me!" Jeff argued.  
  
"No, you know what? I don't have to do anything. I can't believe this! You're leaving me!" I cried.  
  
"No, Casey, I'm not. You don't understand!" he said as I ran out of the room. "Casey! Please get back here and listen to me!" he called after me but I just ran straight to the Diva's locker room.  
  
"Trish, can I stay with you tonite?" I cried wiping tears off my cheeks.  
  
"Yeah, why? Casey, what's wrong?" she asked curiously.  
  
"I'm pissed off with Jeff. He just fuckin told me that he's quitting," I said sitting on the bench.  
  
"Oh Jesus! He told you tonite?! What an asshole!" Trish yelled.  
  
"You knew?!"  
  
"Yeah, he told a bunch of us. He wasn't ready to tell you yet."  
  
"Great, shouldn't he have discussed this all with me first?!"  
  
"That's what we all said. I'm sorry," she said squeezing my shoulder gently.  
  
"I hate him so much right now."  
  
"You don't mean that."  
  
"Yes, Trish, I do. I can't stand him. I'm glad I don't have to be with him tonite. Because I don't know how I can look at him right now. God! Out of all the stupid things he's done, this definitely takes the fuckin cake!"  
  
"Don't worry about. Tonite you'll stay with me and it'll be like old times. And then tomorrow this whole thing will have blown over," Trish smiled.  
  
What Trish had said gave me hope. But it didn't happen. I was still as pissed off with him the next day as I was before. It was to the point where I could barely look at him. Many times he tried to come up to me, but I shoved him away each time only to receive dirty looks by people who thought I should give a chance. Matt seemed to be the only one that was just as mad at him as I was. It was a good thing that I just had to walk out with him and Shane, especially since I wasn't on very good terms with either one at the moment, instead of having a match with the two of them.  
  
"Trish, it can I share with you again tonite?" I asked as I walked through the locker room door after the match that the guys had lost.  
  
"You know that I would love to have you, but I'm actually flying home right after the show to have my knee looked at. Sorry," she smiled.  
  
"That's okay, thanks anyways," I replied shrugging my shoulders at her. "Do you happen to know someone I could stay with?"  
  
"No, sorry," she said skipping out of the room with her cowboy hat in hand.  
  
'Okay, so I can't stay with Shane, he's an asshole and because of Kim. I definitely don't want to stay with Jeff. John's probably sharing with that new chick from wardrobe,' I thought sorting out all my options as Nora came out from the showers. "Nora!"  
  
"Um, yeah?" she asked sweetly with an almost nervous tone.  
  
"Can I share a room with you tonite?" I asked hopefully.  
  
"Sorry, I'm stayin with Trish," she answered shaking her head.  
  
'Guess it's single nite,' I concluded as I gathered my gear and left the room.  
  
"Case!" I stopped right before I hit the door out of the arena. I sighed and turned around slowly, as if I weighed 800 lbs.  
  
"What Jeff?" I asked irritably.  
  
"I know you're pissed at me, but I think you should listen to what I have to say about all this. You and Matt have like totally pushed me a side because of all this. You're both two of the most important people in my life. I hate it that I've pissed you guys off like this. Now Matt's heard my explanation, however you haven't. You never gave me a chance to explain myself," he said. "Where are you headed anyways?"  
  
"To the hotel in hopes that they'll have a single room left," I replied placing my hand on the handle.  
  
"Casey, please stay with me tonite. I got little to no sleep last nite because I didn't have you in my arms. Please baby. And then maybe you'll let me explain myself," he pleaded.  
  
"Fine," I said in a huff. He smiled at me as he shouldered his bag and opened the door for me. I pushed him as I walked out the door. I waited for him so I could follow him to the car.  
  
"First off, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't discuss this all with you first. But you have to understand that this was a hard decision for myself to make. Second, I don't have the heart for wrestling anymore. You more than anyone knows that. Third, and most importantly, my body just can't do this any longer. My back is continually killing me. My neck is always sore. I just can't handle it anymore and I need to quit before my body gives out on me for good. I've done so much stupid shit in the past that I wish I hadn't done. But I can't take that all back now, as much as I may wish I could. If I don't get out now, while I can walk, I may never be able to. Do you understand?" Jeff asked as we drove towards the hotel.  
  
"Jeff, you have to look at this from my point of view. From day one you have always been there for me. I mean Matt and I were close, but from the moment you walked into that locker room, there was an instant spark. I can't bear to think that I'm going to lose you now!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Casey, you're not losing me. I'm still going to love you and be your ever loving boyfriend. I'll just be at home watching you instead of here," he smiled.  
  
"Jeff, to be honest with you, I don't know if I can handle that," I said softly.  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
"I don't know if I can handle that kind of long distance relationship."  
  
"Are you shitting me?!"  
  
"No, I'm not Jeff."  
  
"Casey, you are not breaking up with me! We've been through too much shit for this to all end like this!"  
  
"I'm not saying that I'm breaking up with you right now."  
  
"Right now?!"  
  
"What I'm saying is that don't be surprised when I tell you in the future that this whole long distance thing sucks."  
  
"I can't believe this. Casey, I'm going to be a phone call away. I'm going to be at home!"  
  
"Except when your music career takes off and you're off touring. Then God only know where you'll be," I said looking over at him as we pulled into the hotel parking lot.  
  
"Case, ya know, this sucks!"  
  
"Yeah, tell me about it."  
  
"I love you!"  
  
"I know, and I love you too. But Jeff, you dropped a bomb on me! A large one! Nuclear sized!" I slammed the car door shut and grabbed my stuff before storming off ahead of him. Tonite I'd be spending the nite with Jeff, but I was most um-impressed about it.  
  
***************  
  
A/N: I apologize for this short chapter, but I was just don't have any thing to write at the moment. And now I've got Harry Potter to read, so God only knows when I'll update either stories at the moment. Sorry. I'll try my hardest to gather some inspiration. 


	25. RPW

A/N: Hey all! I decided I would try and get another chapter out. I can't remember who gave me the suggestion in their review, but um, don't worry. Jeff's time will come. I promise you that. Eventually, the tables will turn and he'll be the one pissed off. Of course that won't be for a LONG time. As I write this, I'm watching The Crow. This is the first time I've seen it. I've always wanted to, I've just never gotten to. But now it's on TBS and I'm attached! I can understand why everyone loves it so much! I've gone through an hour of it, ON TV, and I love it. I'm definitely looking into buying it the next time I go to Best Buy. I think that's all for now. Enjoy the chapter. Dudes, the weirdest thing just happened. The kitchen faucet just started by itself. Seriously, my mom is asleep, I am of course in the spare room, and my Dad was out with the dog. No one was out there, and I just heard the water start running. WEIRD!! Oh and my Matt is back. I haven't spoken to him yet. And to tell ya the truth, I'm kinda nervous about it! I really don't know why though. Anyways, I'll continue writing this while watching The Crow for a second time. Plus I just got the best news ever. So it's all good!! Anyways, here's the chapter!  
  
******************  
  
"Jeff, I'm sorry!" I exclaimed as I shot up in bed. I looked around the room and sighed. It was your normal everyday hotel room. The extra hard bed, two big pink cushioned chairs in by the window with a small table in the middle. The dresser at the front of the room with the TV sitting on it, of course with the remote attached. The one thing that normally was in the room, was missing. Jeff was no where to be seen. "Did I get a single last nite?" I asked myself as I tried to remember the nite before. Nothing came to me. The last thing I remembered from the day before was going to a house show. A house show in some town that I couldn't remember. Probably didn't matter. They were beginning to look the same to me anyways. "Damn this fight with Jeff has been going on for like 2 weeks. I'm a fuckin idiot." I flopped back down on the bed, my head hitting the pillow. My hair flopped around my head, which was very unusual considering I always slept with it in a high ponytail. It was much easier to brush the next day like that. I closed my eyes, trying to remember anything from the nite before. Suddenly I heard the hotel door creek open. I sat up with a start, much like I had before. "Jeff!"  
  
"You're up," he said straight faced, showing little to no emotions. He carried a box of Munchkins in his hand. He threw the keys on the dresser and slipped his jacket off. "You feeling okay?" I gave him one of my strange looks, without realizing it, causing him to smile slightly. "Don't give me that look."  
  
"We shared a room last nite?" I asked watching him cross the room.  
  
"Yeah, I wanted to watch over you," he said softly.  
  
"Watch over me?"  
  
"You don't remember last nite, do you?" he said setting the Munchkins on the counter that many hotels had outside the bathroom itself. I shook my head at him, watching him run his hand through his hair. "You had a hardcore match last nite at the house show and you got nailed with a ladder right on the top of your head. Knocked you out for about 5 minutes and you received a concussion. Didn't really expect you to remember it I guess."  
  
"Jeff, where are we?"  
  
"I'd say a hotel, wouldn't you?" he replied snidely.  
  
"Really, because I couldn't tell that part."  
  
"We're in your favorite state." I could sense the sarcasm in his voice and it scared me.  
  
"Please don't tell me we're in Maine," I pleaded.  
  
"Sorry, Case. We had a show last nite, here, in Augusta, Maine. Then tomorrow nite we're in Bangor for a show. Just please don't get hit in the head with the ladder again," he chuckled.  
  
"I'm sorry," I blurted out.  
  
"For getting hit in the head? Damn, you've got nothing to be sorry about. You get hit in the head on a daily basis," he laughed.  
  
"No, Jeff. That's not what I'm sorry about," I said staring at him sternly. He gave me a smile and moved to kiss my forehead.  
  
"Well, what ever it is, it doesn't matter," he smiled brushing hair off my face.  
  
"Yes, Jeff, it does matter. It matters to me. I understand why you're quitting, but you gotta understand that it doesn't make it any less harder on me. I know I'm not going to lose you in the long run. But it's hard to think that someone that I've been with for years, that someone that's been by my side through everything, is leaving me. That you aren't going to be with me every hour on the hour every day of the year," I cried. He brushed a lose tear off my cheek and nodded.  
  
"I know. I know that you understand. I know that you love me. And I know it's going to be hard on you. Hell, it's going to be hard on me. But I have to do it."  
  
"I know. It's just I always thought we'd be retiring together, ya know?" He nodded at me as he wrapped his arms around my body. "So, I'm sorry for how I reacted."  
  
"Yeah well, you have mood swings, I'm used them," he joked. "Come on, I got us some munchkins to eat before we take our journey north."  
  
*******************  
  
"So, Case, what's there to do on a Saturday nite in Bangor?" Shane asked as a bunch of us sat around a table in the Olive Garden.  
  
"Well, when Adam and I were at the mall we say fliers that said there was an RPW show tonite at 7. We could go to that," I suggested.  
  
"What's RPW?" Amy asked.  
  
"Rampage Pro Wrestling. It's an Indy fed up here. There are some really good wrestlers. My sister and her boyfriend took me to a show once," I replied.  
  
"I think I'm gonna skip. I'm not feeling too hot," Matt sighed as he leaned back in his chair.  
  
"I warned you not to eat all that garlic bread," Amy laughed nudging him in the stomach. He groaned but smiled as held on to his stomach painfully. "I think I'm gonna stay in to though."  
  
"Shane? Jeff?" I asked.  
  
"Babe, I'd rather not. I'm working on a song right now, and it's going really good. So I think I just wanna work on that. But go ahead and go if you'd like," he smiled squeezing my knee gently.  
  
"I'll go, if you want me to that is," Shane said.  
  
"Yeah, I think that'd be cool," I smiled at him as the waiter dropped off the check.  
  
Once we all got back to the hotel, I changed into anything that could hide me from the world. Meaning that I dressed in Adam's sweatshirt with the hood over my pulled back colored hair. I also threw on a Yankee hat for good measure. I met Shane in the lobby of the hotel and we were on our way to the small gym at Husson College. We paid the 10 dollar fee at the door and found seats at ring side.  
  
"Now, just a warning. I don't know if the ones that I saw are still here or if they've gotten any better, but this all might suck," I chuckled quietly.  
  
"Oh well, it's a nice way to get out and away from it all though, isn't it?" he smiled at me. I glanced over by the entrance and saw a couple of the guys I used to be into at RPW, Psycho Mike Osbourne, Legion Freakin Cage, and Hardware. They were talking quietly as Mike pointed towards our area.  
  
"Uh-oh, busted," I whispered as the three guys, varying in size, walked towards. Mike, all 6'4", 240 lbs, of him smiled at us.  
  
"Mystic Angel and Shane Helms," he nodded at himself.  
  
"Yeah, but we're trying to keep a low profile," I replied.  
  
"It's an honor to have you two here. Are you recruiting or something?" the smaller of the three, Legion Cage, asked.  
  
"No, we're here as a couple of people who are just here to catch the show," Shane smiled.  
  
"Well, welcome. I just hope we can put on a good show for the two of you. Are there any more WWE superstars going to be here?" Mike asked.  
  
"No, it's just Shane and I."  
  
"Well, I hope you two enjoy the show. We gotta go stretch up now. We'll see you later," Hardware flashed us a smile while fingering the bright pink thong that hung around his neck before leading a way through the crowd towards the locker rooms.  
  
"So, which one did you use to have a crush on?" Shane smiled knowingly.  
  
"As a matter of fact I didn't have a crush on any of them."  
  
"Oh Case, I know you better than that. Which one?"  
  
"Okay! All three," I said shyly.  
  
"Jesus!!" he laughed as the ring announcer stepped into the ring.  
  
Towards the middle of the show, Psycho Mike was back out for his match. He pointed to us and smiled, coming out of character a few times. But it wasn't until Hardware had his match against Legion that I got rather upset about. He seemed to think that it would be okay to draw attention to us by putting the thong he threw to the fans around my neck before the match. My hood fell down and exposed my colorful head of green, blue, red, black, and white hair to the crowd. The ring announcer noticed us and waved us in the ring as everyone stood and applauded, knowing exactly who we were. I let loose a low growl, only audible to Shane, and we reluctantly stood, climbed over the barricade, and entered the ring.  
  
"I'd like to welcome two very well known people to the wrestling world. WWE's very own Shane Helms and his partner from the team of Bad Religion, Mystic Angel!" the announcer spoke. Smiling I took the microphone from him and took a deep breath.  
  
"Thank you all for your wonderful welcome. RPW has put on a great show and I'd like to wish all the wrestlers luck as they continue their careers. I can see that some of you will be around for quite awhile. And who knows, you may be next on my ass kicking list," I said.  
  
"You have a show tomorrow nite, is that correct?"  
  
"Yes, we have a show at the Bangor Auditorium. We hope we'll see you all there. It's going to be a good nite with plenty of surprises!" Shane exclaimed. I glanced over at him with my eyebrows raised and shook my head.  
  
"Well, I hope you both enjoyed the show!" Shane and I nodded before going back to our seats.  
  
"Oh my God," I whispered.  
  
"What?" Shane asked.  
  
"I really didn't want this to happen. Do you know what it's going to be like to get out of here?!" I exclaimed quietly. Shane just laughed.  
  
"Ya know, I'd really like it if you and Kim would like go out to lunch together or something the next time we're home so you two can get to know each other and maybe become friends," Shane spoke suddenly as we drove back to our hotel from the show.  
  
I looked up at him and scrunched up my nose. "I don't think so Shane. Ex-girlfriend and new girlfriend probably isn't a good thing."  
  
"Well, I'd really like you two to be friends. I really like Kim and I of course love you. I just think it could be easier on everyone, ya know?"  
  
"No Shane. I really just don't think it's a good idea. I'm sorry," I said.  
  
"It was worth a try. I just don't wanna lose our friendship. Not again. You mean too much to me for that to happen," he smiled.  
  
"I'll try my hardest to control myself around her," I laughed.  
  
"Thanks kiddo."  
  
**************  
  
"Jeff, when are you leaving?" I asked almost tearfully.  
  
"Leaving?" he asked turning towards me as I laid down on the bed in our room. He finished feeding the fish and walked towards me. "Baby, I don't think I'm leaving."  
  
"The WWE Jeff." Luna and Liger bounded into the bedroom and jumped on the bed, playing a game of tug o' war with a rope bone.  
  
"Oh, um, March. I'm leaving the nite after WrestleMania," he answered sitting on his side of the bed.  
  
"Wow, that's only a month away," I cried. He wiped off a tear and kissed my nose.  
  
"I know," he said softly. "Are you feeling the least bit better about all this?"  
  
"Ya know, I kinda am," I smiled. I rested my head on his chest as he laid back and he combed his hand through my hair. "Just remember, when all those groupies gang up on you, who your girlfriend is. Remember that I will NOT be afraid to kick your ass!" I jumped up and straddled him, pointing my finger roughly into his chest. He grabbed my wrists and flipped me over so he was leaning over me.  
  
"Don't worry. That will NOT be a problem." He smiled and attacked my lips roughly with his.  
  
*****************  
  
A/N: As I read this over, I realized that I didn't like this chapter. Lol I'm not even sure why I'm posting it. Probably just to move things along. But just so you know, I don't like it! lol And the wrestlers I mentioned are real Indy wrestlers in the New England area. Legion Cage is actually the teacher for RPW's wrestling school. All three are excellent wrestlers. My sister and I personally love Psycho Mike. So yummy! Lol 


	26. Rings Gallore

A/N: Sorry that it took me so long to update. I'm finally able to sit at the computer and type without being in pain. I still have some trouble walking, but it's starting to clear up. And my back is like 10xs better. So I have a feeling I'll be back to normal, as normal as I ever was haha, in a few days. Although I have a feeling that if I don't get completely better in like a day my mom may just be taking me to the hospital. Personally I think she's over re-acting a bit, but whatever. Lindsay, I need to talk to you. I may decide to just e-mail you instead. But if I don't, let me know when you're gonna be home and shit so we can talk. I have some things that I need to discuss with you. Kinda important. Well, for me anyways. So, um, yeah. Oh my God! I went to my Smackdown house show and finally so my Matty Matt!! Lol He was so totally awesome!! HE LOOKED AT ME!!! Dudes, we so totally had a connection. lol Seriously, cause I was like the only one cheering for him. Guess Mainers aren't into the whole Version 1.0 Matt Hardy deal. Oh well, got some good pics and shit. So I'm happy. Yeah, they came out. Although it was just a dumb disposable. Some are a little cloudy and look kinda far away, but that's alright. I've decided that before I go to another show I'm getting a better camera with a zoom lens of some sort. Oh, funny story about Chris Benoit. Yeah, he was like dancing. Lol Seriously he was busting a move in the ring. Lol He's a pretty good looking guy in person. He was smiling too. Not that grin that he normally has, but a REAL smile. He looked so totally freakin happy. It was so cool. And Rhyno, not a bad looking guy either. Anyways, it was a really good show. Okay, now onto story news. Connection has the rest of the school year before it's finished. So that shouldn't be too much longer. Another 20 chapters or so. Without You is getting down in chapters as well. Although it's still got a long way to go. Now I'm still planning on making that into a trilogy. So there will be a third story to that series. But I've also got some ideas for another story. So I figured once I finish Connection I'll start on this other story. Anyways, I can't decide on a character name. I mean I know I want the character to be named Hope, but that's it. I've got no middle name or anything. That's where ya'll come in. So, it's poll time. The names to choose from are: Hope Hailey Hardy (In which case she'd be known as Triple H), Hope Isis Hardy (I thought Isis was a pretty name. The meaning is pretty cool too. Supreme Goddess of the Stars. Cool, huh?), Hope Bade Hardy (I thought Bade was a really cool name. Really different), and Hope Celeste Hardy (Celeste is just a pretty name). I'm not going to give any other info about this story. Just the name of the main character obviously. Anyways, onto the story. OH!! Before I go, one little funny fun fact about a certain lovable superhero known as Gregory Shane Helms. Before the show my sister, her bf, and I were standing around by the back watching the superstars drive in and stuff. Well, there was this one lady who, with her family, like travels all over New England and like New York to see WWE shows. Well, I guess she met Shane in NY after a show at their hotel. Her room was like a few down from his. Anyways, she met him while getting ice in her pjs and he was goin out. OUT TO A STRIP CLUB!! I heard that and started laughing. I'm like yep, sounds like Shane. And then she proceeds to tell us that when he came back, he wasn't alone. He brought some striper back with him. Lol Now does that sound like him or what?! Lol Just had to share. Anyways, chapter!  
  
*****************************  
  
"Jeff, that ring is beautiful!" Trish cried leaning over the open jewelry box.  
  
"I know. It's simple yet elegant," Jeff smiled proudly snapping the box closed.  
  
"So when are you doing it? Tonite?" she asked as they walked down the hall of the arena together.  
  
"No, I've got a whole thing planned," he replied as Mark walked out of a locker room. "But before I do anything I have to speak to Mark first." He started to walk after him then turned abruptly, running back to Trish. "Trish, please don't tell anyone. I'm not asking for another month. So, do you think you can keep this quiet for that long?"  
  
"Gee Jeff. I don't know. It's gonna be real tough," Trish replied sarcastically. Jeff's face fell, not catching the sarcasm. She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Jeff, no worries. I'll never tell."  
  
Jeff shook his head and ran off to catch up with mark. "Mark, can I have a word with you?" Jeff asked tapping the large man's shoulder as he discussed his match with Kurt.  
  
"Jeff, I was just about to go fine you," Mark said turning his back to Kurt. "Where's my daughter?"  
  
"Oh, Casey's coming down with a cold so she's taking the nite off to relax. Rob's taking her place in the batch against Chris Benoit."  
  
"Well, make sure you tell her to rest up," Mark grinned beginning to walk away.  
  
"Wait, Mark, I wanted to discuss something very important with you."  
  
"Alright, you've gotten my attention. It's about Casey isn't it?" Jeff nodded swallowing deeply at the tone of his voice. "What is wrong with my little girl?!"  
  
"Mark, um, you you've got it all wrong. It's about our future."  
  
"Meaning?"  
  
"Meaning my future with Casey. You know how much I love her. I mean that's obvious. Everyone knows how much I love her."  
  
"Son, get to the point cause I have a feeling I'm not gonna be liking you much longer."  
  
"I wanted to do this the right way. To ask your permission first."  
  
"Permission for what boy?!" Mark's tone was threatening and Jeff shook a little. Finally Jeff shook his head and looked up at Mark sternly.  
  
"Mark, I already have the ring, but I still wanted this to be right. You are Casey's father. Have been since the beginning. I'd like your permission to ask her to marry me."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Please give me your permission to marry Casey."  
  
Mark started laughing making Jeff wonder whether he should have asked or not. Suddenly Mark's large hand was on Jeff's shoulder. "Jeff, you're a good kid. And Casey loves you whole heartedly. I'm touched you'd ask me for her hand in marriage. I'd be proud to call you my son n' law."  
  
"So is that a yes?!" Jeff exclaimed shocked.  
  
"Of course Jeff. Anyone that makes my sweetheart so happy deserves her for their wife."  
  
"Thank you so much Mark."  
  
"When will this be going on?"  
  
"Not for another month. It's going to be a huge surprise. I just wanted the man she looks up to the most to give me his blessing."  
  
"Well, you certainly have it." Mark smiled slapping Jeff's arm roughly before walking away.  
  
"That is one scary man," Jeff muttered scratching the back of his head with one hand while clutching the ring box with the other.  
  
*****************  
  
"Are you sure you're feeling better?" Shane McMahon asked me as I stirred a cup of coffee. I sniffled a bit and looked up at him with red eyes and all.  
  
"Yeah, sure," I sighed taking a sip. I zipped up my hoodie and pulled the hood over my head. "It's a little cold in this arena though."  
  
Shane looked down at himself, noting the white wife beater and khaki shorts. He shook his head, beads of sweat sliding down his face. "Um, Case, it's like 80 degrees in this place."  
  
"Nah, can't be. I'm freezing," I replied letting out a deep cough.  
  
"That doesn't sound healthy killer," Chris said as he and Jay approached the coffee table.  
  
"You should have heard her yesterday. I sat and played cards with her last nite while you all were working the house show. I thought she was going to die at one point. Scared the shit out of me," Jay shook his head.  
  
"I'm fine you guys," I said before sneezing a sneeze that was so big I spilled my coffee on the floor. "Damn it!"  
  
"Casey, I think we should take you out of the line up tonite. I really don't think you're up to wrestling tonite. We can tweak things," Shane said fixing me another cup.  
  
"No, Shane, really, I can wrestle," I insisted trying to breathe out my nose. "Okay, nose, clogged. What can I take?"  
  
"Case, by the time any medicine works, RAW will be over," Chris said. "I agree with Shane-O. I think you should just go back to the hotel and rest."  
  
"I think I owe it to my fans to be on tonite," I sighed tiredly.  
  
"Alright, what if you just walk down with Shane and Jeff for their tag title match tonite? And then we'll just put Rob against Chris again," Shane said as I took the coffee from him.  
  
"Alright, I suppose that'll be okay," I yawned. I turned and walked down the hall sipping my coffee.  
  
"Um, Casey!" Jay called to me. I turned around and stared at him. "The locker room is that way sweetie." He pointed in the other direction as I rolled my eyes and continued my walk in the other direction.  
  
"You don't look too well Case," Andrew said as I walked by him and Randy.  
  
"Yes, I know. I feel about as well as I look," I replied continuing by. Randy grabbed my arm gently and turned me to face him.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I mean I can't breathe and I feel like crap but all in all I'm fine," I smiled.  
  
"No, I don't think you are. Do you need help or anything?" he asked.  
  
"No, Randy, but thanks. I'll be fine." I walked into the locker room and collapsed on the bench.  
  
"So what did you and Jeff do last nite for Valentine's Day?" Trish asked as she put my hair up for me.  
  
"Slept," I replied.  
  
"Ah, I see." Without looking at her I could tell she was giving me one of her little smirks.  
  
"No, Trish. I was asleep and he was asleep. To tell ya the truth, I didn't even realize that it was Valentine's Day. And knowing him, he didn't remember either," I laughed.  
  
"Oh, well, um, okay."  
  
"You know Jeff well enough to know that dates like this don't mean much to him."  
  
"And that doesn't bother you after having someone like Shane who lives for these kinds of days?"  
  
"No, it really doesn't. In a way it's kind of a relief. I mean it was great to have Shane do such elaborate stuff on days like that, but it had a tendency to be too much. And Jeff is just sweet all the time. He gets me all kinds of little things. Like he'll get me cute little things out of vending machines, like he got me a little plastic ring the other day. I put it on a chain and wear it. He does sweet things like that. That's better than goin all out on one specific day."  
  
"Well, I heard Kim was with Shane last nite. Like I guess he made a big deal after the show."  
  
"Well good for her," I said coldly.  
  
"You don't like her, do you?"  
  
"No, not especially," I sighed.  
  
"You don't know her Case."  
  
"I know Trish. But I still don't like her."  
  
"Casey, you ready?" Jeff asked stepping into the locker room. I nodded and slowly stood only to start a sneezing fit. He shook his head and wrapped his arm around my waist. I shivered at his touch as his hand hit my bare stomach. "Are you sure you're up to this?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine. All I have to do is pound on the apron and look pretty," I said trying to smile as we met Shane behind the curtain.  
  
*****************  
  
"So where's Case?" Matt asked opening the hotel door for his little brother.  
  
"Packing. I think her cold is just getting worse. She slept like all day. And she keeps sounding worse and worse. Goin home for 4 days will hopefully help. I think Shane, Case, and I really need this break," Jeff said sitting on the bed.  
  
"Yeah, she needs the rest. So what's up?" Matt asked.  
  
"Well, I'm afraid that she'll find the ring if I take it home with me. Will you keep it until I ask you for it?"  
  
"Yeah, of course. Have you told Amy about it?" Matt asked as Jeff handed him the ring box. Matt slipped it into a zippered compartment in his suit case.  
  
"No, I don't think it's such a good idea. Let at least one of her friends be surprised," Jeff laughed. "Besides, I think Amy'll like the surprise more than anyone else."  
  
"Yeah, probably," Matt chuckled.  
  
"Well, thanks. I'd better get back before she wonders where I've gone." Jeff stood and waved to Matt before leaving the room.  
  
The whole flight home I slept. Jeff was right about my cold, it was getting worse. I think I had every type of cold medicine possible in me and still I was sick. The moment we had gotten home I hit the bed. I just couldn't get enough sleep, which was probably the drugs' fault. But by the next morning I was up and feeling a 100% better.  
  
"Baby, I'm going to help Dad get his new couch," Jeff called to me in living room from the doorway.  
  
"Okay, love you!" I yelled to him as I watched Dr. Phill. I heard the door shut and him drive away in his new pick up.  
  
That afternoon I was working on the website on my lap top with Marilyn Manson blaring in the background. I was in the middle of loading some pictures when I heard a knock on the door. I looked over the couch and out the window, seeing an unfamiliar car parked in the drive way. I wasn't dressed to be entertaining any guests, wearing only a pair of lounge pants and a tank top. My hair was up in a messy ponytail and I wore my glasses, too lazy to put in my contacts. I figured it was just a bunch of fans trying to meet Jeff or myself, but deep in the back of my mind I knew it wasn't. I closed my lap top and placed it on the end table before getting up. I opened the door coming face to face with the person I had no intentions of ever seeing again.  
  
"Hi Case," she said sweetly as her wavy brown hair blew gently in front of her lightly tanned face, obviously putting Shane's tanning bed to good use.  
  
"Kim, um, hi," I stumbled as I stared at her.  
  
"I heard you weren't feeling well?" she said.  
  
"Yeah, I'm much better now."  
  
"Oh, well, that's good. Um, I actually came here to give something back to you," she said looking down at her feet.  
  
'Like Shane?' I thought to myself. "Oh? What?" I asked.  
  
"Well, I saw this laying on Shane's dresser while he was in the shower earlier and figured you'd want it back. I mean it is yours. I'm sure he has no use for it anymore," she smiled up at me as she held out her hand, still closed.  
  
"Um, what is it?" I asked trying my hardest to be polite.  
  
"Oh, it's your class ring. When I saw it I thought it might be his, but then I realized it was a little to feminine for him. Then I read your name on it and thought that he just hadn't given it back to you yet or something. So I figured, since I wasn't doing anything and Shane was out with his brother, that I'd bring it over." She held out her hand and I saw the silver band shine in the sun light. I stared at it angrily. He seemed so happy that I was letting him keep it. And if he didn't want it anymore, why didn't he give it back to me himself? Was he just that much of a bastard? I grabbed it out of her hand noticing that the chain he used to wear it on was no longer attached.  
  
"Thanks," I replied through clenched teeth, holding it tightly in my hand, the metal growing warmer and warmer each minute it was there.  
  
"No problem," she said continuing to smile. "Well, um, since I'm here and all, do you wanna get some coffee or something? Get to know each other a little better?"  
  
"No, thanks, I've got some stuff I have to do," I answered growing madder.  
  
"Oh, okay. Well, then, maybe some other time."  
  
"Yeah, some other time."  
  
"Okay, so, you have the ring now, I guess I'll go home. Um, bye," she said walking to her car. I closed the door immediately when she turned her back to me. I looked down at the ring in my hand and threw it at the wall.  
  
********************  
  
"Was there a reason you called me Shane?" I asked coolly holding the phone between my shoulder and ear, trying to put Witty back in his cage.  
  
"Yeah there was. I don't want you to get mad at me or anything, but I think I lost your class ring. I went into the shower, leaving it on the dresser, then went to hang out with Mike, and when I came back it was gone."  
  
"Oh, you think you lost it do you?!" I exclaimed angrily.  
  
"Yeah, I mean, I don't know what else could have happened to it. I've looked all over the place for it."  
  
"Well you obviously didn't want it anymore."  
  
"What are you talking about? I always wore it. You know that!"  
  
"Right Shane. As soon as Kim came into the picture you disposed of it. I know the truth Shane. If you didn't want it anymore, you could have given it back to me yourself."  
  
"Casey, I was dating Kim when you said I could keep it. So I don't know what the hell you're talking about."  
  
"Okay, sure."  
  
"Case, what is goin on?! Do YOU know where my ring is?"  
  
"Oh so all of a sudden it's YOUR ring?"  
  
"No, well, yeah, I mean kiddo, you gave it to me."  
  
"And you gave it back."  
  
"I most certainly did not."  
  
"Okay, so not you per say. But your lovely little girlfriend dropped it off."  
  
"Kim was at your house?!"  
  
"Yeah, yesterday. She gave me back MY ring. Said that you didn't want it anymore. And figured that you had just forgotten to like give it back to me."  
  
"Casey, I never gave her permission to give it to you. I love that ring. I always wore it. I was devastated when I couldn't find it. You have to believe me. She must have just like gotten confused."  
  
"So you didn't mean for it to be given back to me?"  
  
"Hell no!"  
  
"Oh, wow, do I feel like a freakin idiot."  
  
"Don't it was just a misunderstanding."  
  
"Well, do you want it back then?"  
  
"I can have it back?!"  
  
"Of course you can."  
  
"I would love to have it back. Thanks Angel."  
  
"Oh, did Kim do something for you?"  
  
"Huh? Oh! No, she's not even here. She's out with some friends. Why?"  
  
I smiled to myself and shook my head as I headed down the stairs to the living room. "No reason."  
  
****************  
  
A/N2: Wow, I like finished this in one sitting. Probably cause it's like midnite and my stupid mom has my blankets and pillows. She's freakin sleeping on them! UGH!! I would love to go to bed now. Lol Hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter. I'm just happy I finally updated. Lol I'll try to make sure that I don't get burned again so badly I can't even type. Lol 


	27. Another One Bites the Dust

"Keeping that ring in sight, right?" I asked sitting across from Shane in catering.  
  
He smiled at me and put down the turkey sandwich he had been eating. He reached into the top of his shirt and pulled out the long chain where my class ring swung freely. "Thanks for giving it back to me."  
  
"Shane, I think you've thanked me now a record of 50 times since like two weeks ago when I gave it back," I laughed. "Ya know, I've been thinking."  
  
"That's frightening," he muttered.  
  
"I'm offended!" I exclaimed placing my hand over my chest as if in shock.  
  
"Mmmhmm, I'm sure you are," he smiled.  
  
"Anyways, I was thinking about what you asked me after the RPW show," I said.  
  
"Case, that was like a month ago."  
  
"Yeah, but still. I was thinking about the question. Ya remember what you asked me, right?"  
  
"Actually, my brain doesn't go that far back."  
  
"Well, you asked me to hang out with Kim. Get to know her. Because you loved me and you really liked her. So you wanted us to get along and possibly be friends."  
  
"Ah, well, Case, you see you don't have to," I put my hand up in front of his face to stop him and smiled.  
  
"Shane, I've decided that you're right. I should give her a chance. If I wanna stay friends with you and be close with you, I have to get to know her and get used to her, and all that good shit. So the next time we're home, I'll go shopping with her or something," I finished, crossing arms and leaning back in the chair.  
  
"Well, you see, there's a problem with that plan," Shane said.  
  
"There is? How so?"  
  
"Well, Kim and I, well, she's moving out this weekend," he replied softly.  
  
"What? Why? Huh?"  
  
"Okay, well, we got into a huge fight after I talked to you about the ring. So, she said she'd had enough. And confessed everything to me," he sighed.  
  
"Confessed everything?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, apparently while I've been on the road she'd go see some Indy shows. Well, I guess she'd go back to her roots, if you will."  
  
"Oh no Shane. She didn't."  
  
"Yeah, she did. She went back to her old ring rat days. She told me between November and that nite, she had slept with over 20 different wrestlers." He picked up his sandwich and continued eating as the room started to fill.  
  
"Are you serious? What a slut!"  
  
"Yeah, that's what I told her. So she said she just needed a couple weeks to get a new apartment and then she'd leave. So she's moving back to Arizona. And I say good riddens."  
  
"Well there are plenty of other fish in the sea."  
  
"Yeah, I'm beginning to see that." He smiled at me as I leaned across the table and kissed his cheek.  
  
"Well, I'm gonna go get ready for the show. I'll see you in about an hour!" I ran out of the room and entered the locker room. "Okay, so best news ever!"  
  
"What are you all excited about?" Stacy asked as she put lotion on her arms.  
  
"Shane and Kim are no longer! If that's not a reason for celebration, I don't know what is!" I laughed.  
  
"You're seriously happy that he and his girlfriend broke up?" Gail asked as I nodded at her. "You're cruel."  
  
"No, she's cruel!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Okay, why'd they break up?" Nora asked.  
  
"Alright, they broke up because she told him that since November, she's slept with over 20 different wrestlers from the Indy scene," I explained.  
  
"Holy shit! She's a slut!" Stacy laughed.  
  
"I think slut is an understatement," Amy replied walking into the conversation.  
  
"Ah, so you've heard the news too?" I smiled.  
  
"Yeah, Matt explained it ALL to me. More information than I needed though," she laughed.  
  
"I'm so happy. She just wasn't right for him anyways," I said digging through my duffle bag.  
  
"Casey, who is right for him?" Trish asked walking out of the showers toweling her hair.  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked.  
  
"Case, what she's trying to say is that in your mind no one is going to be right for him. You don't want him to have anyone but you and yet you still love Jeff more than Shane. How is that possible?" Nora asked.  
  
"What are ya'll talking bout?! That's a load of,"  
  
"The truth!" Amy yelled interrupting me.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about. Of course there is someone out there that's right for him. I'm with Jeff. I don't want anyone else. Would ya'll just stop this?" I stood angrily with my clothes in my hands and walked into the back to change.  
  
'Long lost words whisper slowly to me  
  
still can't find what keeps me here  
  
when all this time I've been so hollow inside  
  
I know you're still there'  
  
I walked into the fog that clouded up the stage. Blue flames marked my entrance as I waited for the fog to clear some. I smiled out at the crowd and pointed to the ring where Billy Kidman stood waiting for me with the cruiserweight belt in his hands.  
  
'Watching me wanting me  
  
I can feel you pull me down  
  
fearing you loving you  
  
I won't let you pull me down'  
  
I looked next to me and remembered that Shane was there. He gripped my hand tightly and it just felt right. Things were finally back to normal, whatever normal was in my chaotic life. So we started our walk down the ramp, the crowd going wild for us as we reached the ring.  
  
"And the challenger, being accompanied to the ring by fellow Bad Religion member Shane Helms. From Cameron, North Carolina, MYSTIC ANGEL!" Shane let my hand go and we slid into the ring side by side.  
  
'Hunting you I can smell you - alive  
  
your heart pounding in my head  
  
watching me wanting me  
  
I can feel you pull me down  
  
saving me raping me  
  
watching me.'  
  
Shane stood in the middle of the ring, waiting for me to get off the ropes. We hit fists and he slid out of the ring. The ref held up the belt that would soon be mine and motioned for the bell. Billy and I locked up, moving around in a circle, before I brought him to his knee in a headlock. He elbowed his way out of it and I immediately let go. He looked to the ropes and bounced off, I dropped to the mat and he leaped over me. Quickly I stood and hit him with a drop kick. Somehow we managed to get up at the same time. Glaring at him, thoughts ran through my head of what to do, so I opted for a few chops to the chest. I backed him into the ropes and held him there, the ref started his count and I let him go, only to grab his arm and whip him into the ropes. I bent down for a back body drop and he kicked me in the head. He got me down in a snap suplex and went for a leg drop. He tried for a cover but I kicked out on the 2 count. He pulled me to my feet by my hair and whipped me into the corner. As he ran at me I moved and he nailed himself on the turnbuckle. I ran behind him and threw him back in a German suplex. I stood and saw my opportunity, I climbed up top and tried for Halo's Twist, but took too long and he threw me off the turnbuckle. He pulled me closer to the corner and went for his ever famous shooting star press. I quickly rolled away and we both laid on the mat tired and worn out. The ref started his count and I could Shane in the distance cheering me on and along with his cheers came the encouragement from the audience. I finally found my footing by the 7th count. I stood and stared at Billy as he had just gotten to his feet, but still bent over in pain. I grabbed him and nailed his head into the mat in a DDT. I pulled him back up and started hitting the chops. He grabbed my arms and threw it down. Somehow he had picked me up and I was now sitting on his shoulders as he got ready for a powerbomb. I reversed it and we were both down once again, due to my desperation Hurracanrana. I crawled to him and hooked his leg. Miraculously he kicked out just before the ref's hand hit the mat for the third time. Shocked, I slowly stood up. I had had just about enough of him and was ready to finish him. I turned my back to him as I started for the ropes, suddenly I felt my shoulders on the mat and realized he had just pulled a rollup on me. I managed to kick out but stayed on the mat while Billy got up. He picked me up and whipped me into the ropes. He was going for tilt-a-whirl neckbreaker, I just knew it. So I positioned myself for a spear, and on my way back towards him, rammed him into the mat. I turned him over and locked on Halo's Ring.  
  
'Long lost words whisper slowly to me  
  
still can't find what keeps me here  
  
when all this time I've been so hollow inside  
  
I know you're still there'  
  
I could hear my music and I felt Shane's hand on my back. I slowly released the hold and stood. The ref handed me the Cruiserweight belt and Shane raised my hand into the air. He patted my stomach as I held the belt up to the crowd.  
  
"And here is your winner, MYSTIC ANGEL!!" Shane hugged my tightly before we walked up the ramp and into the back. I felt good. I was the new Cruiserweight champion and for once in a long time, I wasn't hurt.  
  
"Mmmm, title belt," I moaned happily as I held the cold metal to my face. Shane laughed at me as he led me through the hall.  
  
"It was a good match Case. I think you did better tonite than you've done in a while," he commented.  
  
"And hey, I'm not even injured," I laughed as I left him at the Diva's locker room door.  
  
****************  
  
"I can't believe tomorrow nite is the last nite we'll be together like this," I sighed as Jeff walked up behind me in the bathroom. He put his arms around me and I placed my hands on his.  
  
"I know," he replied softly placing soft kisses on my bare shoulder. "Are you okay with this?"  
  
I smiled and turned to face him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lifted me onto the counter. He stepped in between my legs, his hands up the back of my shirt, rubbing my back gently. "Yeah, I am. I'm over it. Besides, I know that you'll be at home waiting for me."  
  
"Mmm, of course I will be," he smiled kissing me deeply. "I've never loved someone as much as I love you."  
  
"Me either," I breathed kissing him deeper and deeper. He kissed my neck and moved onto my shoulder before finding his way back to my lips. "Mmm, Jeff, we can't." I pushed him away.  
  
"Of course we can," he replied.  
  
"No, we don't have time. We have to be at the arena in an hour and we're not even dressed or packed yet," I said. He looked at me strangely as if he had no clue what I was talking about. "Remember? They're doing that meet and greet before WrestleMania. So we have to be all dressed and ready to go for that. Plus I have to warm and do a sound check."  
  
"Ah, that's right. I remember. Tonite you sing the National Anthem," he smiled.  
  
"Yeah, I'm so nervous though," I sighed dropping my arms. He lifted me off the counter and kissed my forehead.  
  
"You'll do fine. You've got a beautiful voice. You deserve this," he nodded at me before leaving me to finish getting dressed.  
  
"So what are you wearing tonite?" Amy asked looking through her bag.  
  
"Probably just a tank top and the bondage pants with the chains," I smiled.  
  
"Oh that's right, you don't have a match. You're valeting for the last time with Bad Religion," Trish smiled applying some foundation.  
  
"Yeah, don't remind me," I sighed. "Hey do any of you have a knee pad I could borrow for the match?"  
  
"Wait, if you're not having a match, why do you need a knee pad for it?" Trish asked placing her hands on her hips.  
  
"No disqualification tag title match," I smiled.  
  
"Ah," she replied with a chuckled.  
  
"Ask Matt," Amy suggested. I quickly stood and ran out of the locker room towards his. I stepped and he seemed to be the only one in there. He shook his head at me when he saw me.  
  
"What brings you to this side of the world? Jeff's in catering," he said.  
  
"I actually came to see you my big brother," I smiled.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Now what makes you think I want something?"  
  
"I know you."  
  
"Alright, so I need to borrow one of your knee pads for my left knee. I'll give it right back to you after the match."  
  
"Wait, one?"  
  
"Yes, one, I have a massive bruise on that knee and it's gonna be killing me if I have to nail it on the mat or something."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Well, um, I'd like to say that I was inventing a new move, but that'd be a lie."  
  
"Then what did you do?"  
  
"I tripped on the steps outside the ring."  
  
He burst out laughing, almost falling over in the process. I placed my hands on my hips and glared at him. "It's good to know that somethings don't change with you, Case."  
  
"I'm glad you could be amused by my klutziness. Can I borrow one or not?"  
  
"Yeah, over in that duffle bag. Help yourself," he laughed pointing to his bag on the bench.  
  
I opened one end of the bag and rummaged through it. I didn't find the knee pads, but what I did find was a ring box. I opened it up and almost fell faint from the beauty of the ring. "Oh my God. Matt this ring is beautiful." He whipped his head around and stared at me. He rushed to my side and grabbed it out of my hand.  
  
"Um," he stuttered.  
  
"Is it for Amy? Her birthday?" I asked as I watched him place the ring back in the bag.  
  
"Yeah, that's it! Do you think she'll like it?" Matt asked.  
  
"Oh yeah. I mean I love it, so if she doesn't want it, I'll take it."  
  
He chuckled and said, "I'll keep that in mind." He pulled out the knee pad and handed it to me. "I believe this is what you were looking for."  
  
"Thanks, and don't worry, right after the match you'll get it back. And I won't shed a word about the ring to Amy," I smiled as I left. 


	28. Last Nite Proposals

A/N: This is the long awaited chapter of the proposal. Now, this is also the last nite Jeff is with the WWE. So I made how I think the WWE should handle wrestlers that are quitting, retiring, or being fired. I think they all deserve one last match and one last time to say goodbye. So that's pretty much what I did here. I wrote this like 10 chapters ago. Lol And I've read it over like 30 times and each time I read it over, the worse I think it sounds. But I find lately that I have that for a problem. I like second guess myself or something. But anyways, here it is.  
  
******************  
  
"Jeff, are you sure you wanna do something like this in front of all these people?" Shannon asked as Jeff stood up from the bench.  
  
"Shan, I'm confident this is all gonna turn out alright," Jeff smiled.  
  
"How do you feel about this being Jeff's last nite?" Stacy asked as I pulled Adam's sweatshirt over my ponytail.  
  
"I'm really upset, but don't tell him that," I shivered as I pulled out my walkman and Unloco cd. I paused as Jeff's entrance music went off and he bounced out onto the stage. "What's goin on? His match isn't until later and I'm supposed to walk out with him!"  
  
"I don't know. Looks like he's making a speech," Stacy replied as we all focused on the tv.  
  
"What's Jeff doin out here?!" King exclaimed.  
  
"I don't really know. Tonite's the King of Extreme's last nite with the WWE and his match isn't until later. Looks like he's making a speech," JR replied.  
  
"I'm glad that my last nite with the WWE could be right here in Charlotte, North Carolina," Jeff started. "And although my last match isn't until later I wanted to come out here and leave by doing something special."  
  
"Case, What's he doin?" Gail asked. I looked at her and shrugged.  
  
"I fell in love almost 4 years ago when I first laid my eyes on this one special girl. I remember the first time I saw her. She was soaking from head to toe. Her dyed blonde hair dripped with rain water and her crystal blue eyes showed much pain and sorrow even though she smiled brightly. I remember how she looked in a pair of my athletic pants, in which she still wears around the house today, and couldn't believe how beautiful she looked."  
  
"Is he talking about you?" Gail asked.  
  
"I think so," I replied with a clueless look on my face.  
  
"She's changed so much from that shy girl that I met. Our friendship has been through so many trials and tribulations, but I couldn't imagine being with anyone else during those times. I remember the first time she jumped off a ladder and how Matt was convinced that his little sister wasn't ready for such risks. Since that moment she's thrown her body into many different things. From simple single matches, to hardcore matches, to TLC matches, and everything in between. She's a true daredevil trapped in an angel's body. Everyone has been able to see our relationship grow on and off screen. I love every single part of her. From her small ticklish feet to her now purple, black, and blue streaked bleach blonde hair. I love how her small hands, that usually have dark blue and black finger nails, fit in mine. I love how she giggles whenever I go to kiss her neck because of my goatee. Since the moment of her first match she's been called the female version of me, and she is so much like me it's amazing. Even though she's as tough as anyone of us guys, she has this certain childish innocence about her. One minute she could be kicking anyone of our asses and the next she could be watching the Lion King. I know that right now she's got Edge's sweatshirt on over her freezing cold body, sitting in the Diva's locker room watching this with her headphones around her neck, ready to listen to probably Unloco, and has this blank look on her face."  
  
"Wow, he's good," Gail laughed.  
  
"Now that I've blabbed on long enough, Casey Piniarski, could you come out here?" he requested.  
  
I looked around the locker room at all the girls as they gave me excited smiles. I threw my headphones on the bench and stood as I slowly made my way to the gorilla position, chewing on the strings to the hood of Adam's sweatshirt and my hands in its front pocket. I nodded at the sound techs, signaling them to play my music. I walked out to a tremendous pop as I gave Jeff a nervous smile. I lowered my baggy black jeans slightly and slowly walked to the ring. Jeff smiled at me as I stood in front of him. The arena suddenly became hushed.  
  
"What's going on?" I asked.  
  
"Casey, you know that I love you and always have. You also know me well enough to know that I have to go out with a bang. And what's better then confessing my love for you. And I mean you, Casey Lee Piniarski, not Mystic Angel," he said as I continued to stare at him.  
  
"I don't understand. Are the McMahon's cool with all this?!" I asked.  
  
"We've been friends for almost 4 years and a couple for almost a year. I think we're ready for this."  
  
"Jeff, are you saying what I think you're saying?" I asked as he took my left hand in his and dropped down to his knee. He pulled out a black velvet box from his back pocket and opened it to reveal a silver band with a diamond heart on it.  
  
"Casey, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you become Casey Hardy and be my wife?" he asked as I immediately put my hand to my gaping mouth. My eyes watered as I felt everyone begin to chant yes in anticipation for my answer. I knelt down to his level and smiled.  
  
"Yes Jeff. I want to be your wife!" I replied as everyone stood in the arena and applauded. Jeff smiled as he placed the ring on my finger and wrapped me tightly in his arms. We stood and I kissed him deeply before we left the ring.  
  
"There goes the happiest WWE couple I've seen in the longest time," JR said. "We all wish Casey, better known as Mystic Angel to the wrestling world, and Jeff Hardy luck in the future."  
  
"I see good things for these two kids JR," King smiled as we disappeared.  
  
"Okay, now was that real or for show?" I asked nervously, not really wanting to know the answer.  
  
"Casey, I wouldn't lie about something like this," he replied placing his hands on my face.  
  
"I love you," I cried as he brought my face to his.  
  
"I'm so glad you said yes," Jeff said kissing me softly.  
  
"I'm so glad you asked. God Jeff, this is the best nite of my life!" I exclaimed squeezing him tightly.  
  
"Well, go show it off. No one but Matt, Shannon, and Trish have seen it," he laughed.  
  
"I'll see you for your match!" I kissed his cheek and took off down the hall squealing excitedly. My first stop was of course the Diva's locker room. The second I stepped inside everyone crowded around me.  
  
"Oh my God! This is so exciting!" Amy exclaimed hugging me tightly. "Welcome to the family.........AGAIN!"  
  
"I can't believe you're gonna get married," Nora cried her eyes filled with tears. She hugged me and backed away slowly allowing the other girls to hug me.  
  
"Well, now that you all have seen my ring, I gotta go tell my father. God, I can't believe this is happening to me!" I cried as I skipped out of the room.  
  
I ran at Dad and he picked me up instantly in his arms, holding me tightly and not letting go. "I can't believe my little girl is going to get married," he said softly kissing my cheek. "I'm losing a daughter!"  
  
"You're gaining a son!" I laughed. "Besides, you still have K."  
  
"Oh Lord, it sure as hell better be a long time before I hear this from her," he smiled. "I love you sweetie."  
  
"I love you too Daddy." I continued walking down the hall, receiving many words of congratulations. Adam was standing at the end of the hall talking to Jay and Chris, the three people I was looking for.  
  
"Congratulations Kiddo," Adam smiled hugging me tightly. Jay patted me on the back waiting for his turn. "I'm happy for you. You and Jeff are going to have a wonderful marriage."  
  
"I just hope it can be as great as you and Alanah," I smiled as I looked towards Chris.  
  
"I'm happy for you Killer. You deserve this. You're a special girl," Chris said kissing my cheek.  
  
"And Jeff's a SPECIAL boy," Jay and Adam joked.  
  
"Haha guys. Thanks," I smiled before walking off again. The one person I wanted to tell wasn't there. Shane, was at home resting because of a knock to the head he got the nite before when he and Jeff lost the tag titles to Sean O' Haire and Mark Jindrak.  
  
"Casey!" I heard a yell from behind me and turned. Shannon was staring at me with his hands on his hips waiting for me. I ran towards him and he held open his arms. As they closed around me, he picked me up and laughed. "Congratulations! This couldn't have happened to a better couple!"  
  
"Thanks Shan. I'm so excited. I can't wait to start planning this thing," I laughed.  
  
"I can imagine. So, got any ideas yet?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I definitely want Daddy and my sister, Melanie to walk me down. After that, not a clue. Probably have Amy as my maid of honor," I bit on my lip as he smiled at me.  
  
"God, I can't believe two of my best friends are getting married. AND to each other!" he said hugging me once again. "Well, I'm sure Jeff's match is almost up, so I'll let you run off to him now."  
  
I started to run off again, but turned around and smiled at him. "I'M GETTING MARRIED!" I shouted before running away.  
  
That nite after the show, Jeff and I drove home. Though we were tired, we jumped on the four-wheeler, with a spray paint can in purple, and rode down to the lake. On the back of the bench we had painted our names on top of each other the nite we re-painted it. So we added a heart around them, to commemorate that nite we got engaged. I fell asleep staring at the ring with his arms around me. I just couldn't get over the fact that Jeff had asked me once and I had said yes. Whereas Shane had asked me numerous times and I just couldn't get that word out.  
  
*************  
  
"I'm surprised you didn't want to spend the day with your new fiancé," Shane said stealing a fry off my plate as we sat in a booth at Ruby Tuesdays.  
  
"He wanted to do some brother bonding with Matt before we leave tomorrow. So they're off doing whatever it is that brothers do together," I smiled.  
  
"Ah, so in other words, nothing," Shane said seriously causing me to laugh. "So let me see this ring." I held out my hand and he held it gently. "It's beautiful. I guess it's a good fit for you. Better than any of the ones I got you, huh?"  
  
"Shane, they were all beautiful too. It's just that this one is so simple. And I don't know, it does fit my personality better." I sighed as I picked up a fry and stared at it. "Speaking of those rings, what'd you do with them all?"  
  
He chuckled lightly and shook his head, "One of them I sold on e-bay for some big bucks and gave the money to Make a Wish."  
  
"What'd you sell it as? The ring Mystical Angel shot down from Shane Helms on one of his many proposals?" I laughed.  
  
"Actually, yeah," he smiled.  
  
"Wow, um, okay. So what'd you do with the others then?"  
  
"The others I sold to a pawn shop," he replied.  
  
"I'm sorry Shane," I said shaking my head at myself.  
  
"For?"  
  
"For making you spend all that money on me just to be shot down. And I'm sorry that I always told you no."  
  
"It's okay. Casey, I would have rather taken the chance to be shot down then never to have tried at all. I really loved you more than you can even imagine. And I still do. But I know I'm not who you want. I know you and Jeff are going to be very happy together. The perfect couple, right?"  
  
"Shane, I would have been very happy with you too."  
  
"Maybe so, but that's not to be. So move on. We can't keep dwelling on the past like this."  
  
"Yeah, you're right. I must say though, you were either very stupid for asking me all those times, or you had massive balls," I laughed.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, the joke is always on the little guy," he said as I gave him a sarcastic smirk.  
  
"Little isn't the word I would use," I laughed.  
  
"Wow, I'm not sure whether that's an insult or a compliment."  
  
"Pick one and I'll go with it."  
  
"I'm gonna go with the compliment cause other wise that's gonna hurt my Man Ego."  
  
"You're Man Ego?"  
  
"Yeah, my MAN ego."  
  
"Oh God."  
  
"Yeah, it's been called that too."  
  
"You are UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE!" I laughed.  
  
"I try my hardest," he smiled at me. "So, come up with any plans or anything?"  
  
"Nope, not yet. I think maybe we should have a date first, ya know?"  
  
"Dates help a great deal in a situation like this. You just have to promise me that I'll be invited."  
  
"Well, duh! Shane, if I have anything to say about it, you'll be in it."  
  
"In it?"  
  
"Yeah, we'll make you ring bearer or something," I smiled.  
  
"Yeah, thought so."  
  
"No, seriously, I'll make sure you're one of the ushers."  
  
"Thanks," he said smiling.  
  
"May 1st," I blurted out.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I want the wedding to be on May 1st," I repeated.  
  
"Um, I mean that's great and all, but isn't that cutting it a little close? It's like a month away," Shane said.  
  
"No, not this year. Next year. There's no way in hell I could put together a wedding in a month," I laughed.  
  
"I'm sure it'll be a beautiful date," he smiled.  
  
************  
  
"So, did you and Shane have fun today?" Jeff asked from the bedroom while I brushed my teeth.  
  
"Yeah, we did," I answered between spits.  
  
"What'd you guys do?"  
  
"Just hung out, ate lunch at Ruby Tuesdays, nothing special."  
  
"Oh, what'd you guys talk about?"  
  
"Could you be anymore nosey?"  
  
"Well, as your future husband, I do have certain rights to know these things."  
  
"Yeah, uh-huh, sure ya do!" I laughed as I walked towards the bed.  
  
"So what was the topic of conversation today?"  
  
"We just talked about the wedding, you being gone, and his Man Ego."  
  
"Man Ego?"  
  
"Yeah, don't ask. Ya really don't wanna know," I laughed as I crawled in next to him. I rested my head on his chest and sighed deeply.  
  
"I'm sure I don't." I felt his arms wrap around me tightly as he kissed the top of my head. "This is our last nite together for 2 weeks."  
  
"I know. It's gonna be so weird."  
  
"Well, we never got to commemorate being engaged."  
  
"Um, Jeff, that's why we did the heart."  
  
"I don't mean like that!" he exclaimed flipping me over so he leaned over me. "I mean like this." He gave me a grin and I knew what was coming. I smiled up at him before he turned out the lights. 


	29. Connecting Rooms

A/N: Okay, officially upset right now. Some chick is telling me how she's met all these wrestlers and I keep thinking about how lucky I am to be able to go to shows considering where I live. I seriously hate hearing about how all these people have meet these people that I love so much. Like I'm glad they've met them, but when's all my screaming, and money paying, and all that good shit gonna pay off?! It sucks so bad. Like I feel so pathetic because of how upset I am. I only wanna really meet two people. That's it. One I don't really expect to meet, Jeff Hardy. The other, Shane. Why am I not lucky enough to meet him? Like seriously, I'm not asking for much! It's not like I wanna go have dinner with the guy or something, ya know? I just want a picture and an autograph. Or just a picture would be good enough. It sucks so bad. Cause I know that I'm probably never gonna meet them. And then I have to sit here and listen to people tell me all these wonderful stories about people. And I just sit here and think about how happy I am that Shane e-mailed me back ONCE. I think I'm the most unlucky person ever. Really, nothing goes my way. I just want one thing, just one thing! I think I'm done ranting about how much I hate my life. I guess here's the next chapter, although I don't know why. Yeah, it's a "let's hate ourself" day. I'm having a lot those lately.   
  
*******************  
  
I laid my towel on the white sand of Daytona Beach and pulled my sunglasses over my eyes as the sun reflected off the warm ocean water. The beach was fairly empty since it was only about 75 outside, but I can't go to Florida without visiting the beach. I only had about an hour to relax before the house show that nite. It was weird, I looked at Shane as he set a towel down next to mine and thought about how he should be Jeff. Since Jeff was the one that always went to the beach with me. I glanced down at my left hand and smiled seeing the prism reflection from my engagement ring. It had been about 3 weeks since the nite Jeff proposed to me and I still couldn't get over the fact that I was getting married. Since then I had been planning the wedding whenever I wasn't wrestling or singing. I slid my red board shorts off and pulled my white billabong tank top off. Shane looked over at me and wiggled his eye brows catching the site of me in my brand new blue flames bikini. I rolled my eyes and settled myself on my towel, pulling out my wedding notebook.  
  
"Do you ever take a break from planning this wedding?" he asked.  
  
"Nope, I don't. It's supposed to be the most magical day of my life and I'm gonna see to it that it is," I smiled.  
  
"So what are your plans so far?"   
  
"Well, Amy's obviously my maid of honor. I think she's doing more planning than I am!" I laughed. "Jessy, Nora, Trish, and Crystal are gonna be the other bridesmaids. Then the ushers will be Matt as best man, Shannon, you, Jesse, and Adam."  
  
"Ah, now here's a big question, who's going to give you away?"  
  
"I've been really thinking about this one. I mean it should be someone from my family, right? But I don't want, well, you know. So I was thinking about Melanie and Dad."  
  
"Gil?"  
  
"No, Mark."  
  
"You know, he's so proud that you're getting married. He's been so happy and excited since Jeff asked you. I've never seen him like this. He's even become somewhat of an inspirational speaker. He's better than Chris Benoit!" Shane laughed.  
  
"Yeah, that's Dad. I just hope he'll do it."  
  
"He will, I'm positive." Shane looked out at the ocean and sighed. "So, um, what about a place? Have you guys decided on that?"  
  
"Yeah, there's this field behind Jeff's house. And there's a lake there and our bench is there. We go there to think and to get away from it all. So we want to have it there."  
  
"How come I've never heard of this place?"  
  
"Well, only three people know about it. Me, Jeff, and Beth. It's very private. You remember when we came back from Amy's funeral and I disappeared for hours?"  
  
"Yeah, I remember that."  
  
"Well, I went there. It was the only place I could think of to go. So we decided that we want the wedding to happen there and the reception to be at the house," I answered.   
  
"That's cool. Decided on dresses?"  
  
"No, haven't really had much time to look. I know the colors are gonna be black, blue, and silver. That I know."  
  
"Black?"  
  
"Yeah, black. It was either that or purple."  
  
"Black is good," Shane laughed.   
  
"Thank you for coming to the beach with me. Usually it's Jeff that goes with me."  
  
"I know. You really miss him don't you?"  
  
"More than anything in this world. I talk to him everynite on the phone, but it's just not the same as being able to look at him, touch him, ya know? Three weeks, and I haven't seen him once. It's so hard."  
  
"I know. It'll get easier."  
  
"You think so? Or will it get worse once he starts to get this music thing off the ground?"  
  
"You really hate that he's gone."  
  
"Yeah, I hate it. It's horrible," I said feeling tears form behind my eyes.  
  
"Does he know how you feel?"  
  
"No, I can't tell him. He thinks I understand. And I mean I do, but I don't at the same time. I know it doesn't make any sense, but that's how I feel."  
  
"It does make sense. Cause I know if you all of a sudden decided to quit I would be quite upset."  
  
"Can we not talk about this?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. No problem. Let's talk about Mystic Angel."  
  
"Oh gees, we go from bad to worse!" I laughed slipping my notebook into my bag.  
  
"Sean O'Haire?"  
  
"Yeah, Sean. I think it'll be cool. I'm not gonna be the baby face anymore. I'll be neutral. Definitely not goin for the heel shit again. That sucked. I think it'll be cool though. Don't you?"  
  
"I don't know. He's just, evil."  
  
"Yeah, he's evil, but that's what makes him so irresistible."  
  
"Yeah, okay," he laughed. "I was thinking about sleeping arrangements."  
  
"Sleeping arrangements?"  
  
"Yeah, I mean you're all by yourself now. What about starting to get connected rooms? You and me?"  
  
"Um, I don't know Shane, wouldn't that be kinda weird?"  
  
"Weird? Why would it be weird?"  
  
"Well, I don't know. I suppose we could try it. It might be nice to have someone next to me for a change. I wouldn't be as lonely."  
  
"Right, so it's settled, tonite we'll see about switching rooms," he smiled. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind, but shook my head when I realized his mind was filled with nothing but cobwebs and naked women.  
  
*************  
  
"Hey, Mystic Angel." I turned looked over my shoulder from my seat on one of the equipment cases and a small smile grew on my face. Sean O' Haire was walking towards me, his hair just as wild as ever. He had on his clothes for wrestling, complete with the black pleather trench coat. He stood in front of me and gave me that evil smile as he stroked his goatee.  
  
"Sean, what can I do for you?" I asked.  
  
"Well, I've been waiting for the right time to ask you this, and now seems like as good a time as any considering Bad Religion has broken up and you are currently by yourself. How would you like to start accompanying me to the ring during my matches?" he asked.  
  
"You mean as a valet?!" I asked with a laugh as I jumped off the case.   
  
"Yeah, as my valet and manager," he answered crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side, his smile still intact.  
  
"Now why would you pick me out of all the other Diva's here?" I asked curiously crossing my arms as well.  
  
"Well, I've been watching you for awhile now and I like your style, Angel. Besides, we've both got this whole flames thing going for us," he joked.  
  
"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't do valeting," I replied as I started to walk away, but he grabbed my arm.  
  
"You valeted for Jeff Hardy, Shane Helms, Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore, and Chris Jericho. Why would valeting for me be any different?" he asked letting my arm go.  
  
"I wasn't their valet. I was their partner. There's a BIG difference. I'm not going to prance around the ring and look pretty for the crowd. That's not who I am. And if you've been watching me then you'd know that." With those words I walked away.  
  
"Good luck with your match against Victoria tonite!" he called after me. I waved him off and he stood there watching me walk away stroking his goatee once again.  
  
"Well, looks like Sean O' Haire, the new Intercontinental Champion, wants Angel on his side Tazz. What do you think about that?" Cole asked.  
  
"I think it'd be very wise of her to take this offer. Sean's a strong competitor and I certainly wouldn't want him on my bad side," Tazz replied as my music hit. "Speak of the devil, er, Angel."  
  
"The following match is scheduled for one fall, introducing first, from Cameron, North Carolina. She's the WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Mystic Angel!" I stood in the ring and played with the Jeff Hardy necklace I wore. As Victoria walked down the ramp I ripped off my Mystic Angel t-shirt and threw it into the crowd. She slid into the ring and I was ready with a drop kick. The bell rang and we were both up. We stared at each other until she reached out and slapped me. My head whipped to the side and I rubbed my cheek. I shook my head at her and pushed her roughly. She pushed me back and I went for a spear. She hit the mat and I started a series of punches to her face. The ref stopped me and I pulled her up. I grabbed her arm and whipped her into the ropes. She came back at me and I grabbed her arm and wrenched it back. She tapped her shoulder and winced in pain. She started hitting me with elbows to the head. I broke the hold and she bounced off the ropes and hit me with her shoulder. I hit the mat and she was on top of me in an instant, punching me like I had done to her. She stopped and did a leg drop, going for the cover right after. I kicked out but she had the offensive. She pulled me up and scoop suplexed me, pinning me once again. Still I kicked out. She put me into a sleeper hold, but I didn't last long in that when I backed her up into the turnbuckle. I turned around and lifted her up ready for a superplex. We both hit the mat and laid motionless while the ref counted. She was the first up. She pulled me to my feet and set me up for the Widow's Peak when there was a large cheer from the crowd. Suddenly she dropped me and she laid on the mat while the ref backed someone out of the ring. I looked around, but decided on going for the cover instead of worrying about my helper. I heard my music and stood up. Looking towards the ramp. Sean stood there with the same grin he always has, nodding his head. I glared at him, not positive what to think about the situation as he walked to the back.   
  
"What does this mean? Will Angel return the favor? Or will she just forget this ever happened? Do you think Sean will make her repay him?" Cole asked.  
  
"No one knows. I guess we'll just have to wait and find out," Tazz replied.  
  
"That was one crappy match," I laughed as I grabbed a towel out of my bag.  
  
"It wasn't that bad," Amy said stretching for her tag match with Matt against Trish and Val Venis.  
  
"So are you staying with Shane tonite?" Amy asked.  
  
"Not staying with him, NEXT to him. We've had this arrangement for a week now and you're still asking me about it?" I laughed taking a sip of water.  
  
"It's just all kinda weird. I mean he's your ex!" she said.  
  
"Yeah, my ex and I'm engaged to the most wonderful guy in the world!" I smiled.  
  
"Second most wonderful guy," she smirked.  
  
"Matt is so NOT the most wonderful guy!" I argued placing my hands on my hips as she stood.  
  
"Oh yeah?" she exclaimed getting in my face.  
  
"Yeah!" I yelled back.  
  
"Okay, you two do realize who you're fighting over right?" Trish asked.  
  
"Oh, right, Matt. Hmm," Amy said seriously before breaking out laughing. I shook my head and laughed with her before grabbing my stuff and going into the shower.  
  
************  
  
I laid in the bed as the thunderstorm worsened. I hadn't gotten over my fear of thunderstorms and I hated that. I gripped onto the kangaroo Shane had given me years before. I wished with everything that I had, that Jeff was there holding me tightly, telling me I was fine and safe. But he wasn't. He was miles and miles away. After thinking about what to do, knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep without feeling protection of some sort, I decided to get out of bed and see Shane in the next room. It was early in the morning, about 2, and I knew he'd be sound asleep, or at least I thought he would be. I opened the door between our rooms and quietly walked into the dark room, the only light being from the lightening outside. I hugged the kangaroo and bit on my lip, looking him over.   
  
"What's the matter?" I heard him ask me tiredly. "Angel, what's got you looking like a lost little girl?" I looked down at myself, wearing the oversized Green Lantern t-shirt he gave me and a pair of shorts that the shirt covered. My 6th year old look was complete with the kangaroo in my arms.  
  
"Um, thunderstorm," I said shyly.  
  
I saw him smile in the darkness and lower the sheets for me to get in with him. I nodded and climbed in next to him. He turned over so we were back to back and I laughed.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"I've got to get you to start wearing at least underwear when you sleep!" Those were the last words spoken before we both fell asleep. Although, not much after that, I felt him drape his arm over me. 


	30. Surprises at every corner

A/N: Okay, so I took a really awesome quiz at quizilla. It was what sign of the black zodiac are you? The results are the characters from 13 Ghosts. If you've ever seen the movie you know what I'm talking about. It's a really good movie. And there are 13 ghosts that are needed for this thing and all represent something. Well, this is what I am: 'The Lost Soul: You do not forgive yourself for what you did. Instead you wander the mortal world until one of the other ghosts finds you and consumes you entirely. You are a lost and heartbroken soul The holy pure. You are a sacrifice to the Dark Divinity, you are the 13th and final sign of the black zodiac.' How cool is that?!  
  
********************  
  
"So I was gonna start making the guest list," Jeff said as I moved around the hotel room with the phone between my shoulder and ear. "Is that okay?"  
  
"Yeah, sure that's fine baby. I mean there's no one that I would invite that you don't know anyways," I smiled packing up all my gear for the show that nite.  
  
"Is there anyone you had in mind to invite that I wouldn't think of?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know. I was, well, I don't know what to do about this. I was thinking about telling my parents," I said softly.  
  
"Oh?" he asked shocked.  
  
"Yeah, I mean they should know, right?" I asked unsure as I sat on the bed blowing a chunk of hair out of my face.  
  
"Well, I don't know. It's up to you," he replied.  
  
"I don't know. What do you think I should do?" I asked lying back on the bed.  
  
"Sweetie, they're your parents. They're the ones that tried to take you away. They're the ones that made you leave in the first place. It's up to you," he said.  
  
I rubbed my forehead as Shane entered the room through the connecting door. He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. "I guess I'll have to think about it some more. I gotta go. Shane's here. We're leaving for the arena early cause Steph and Paul have some storyline ideas that they want to discuss with me. Apparently they want to change my look a bit for this fling with Sean."  
  
"Ugh, I hate that idea," he laughed. "The fans already know you're mine. They're not stupid."  
  
"No they're not. But I guess they have an idea about how to solve that problem," I said shaking my head as Shane started tapping his foot. "UGH! ALRIGHT SHANE!"  
  
"Is he being impatient?" Jeff said.  
  
"Oh yeah," I said. "So I'll talk to you soon. I love you."  
  
"I love you too. Be careful out there."  
  
"Oh don't worry, I'm not doing anything but interfering anyways," I sighed. "Bye." I hung up and looked at Shane.  
  
"So how's our little rock star?" Shane asked as I zipped up my duffle bag.  
  
"He's good. He's going to record some stuff in Chicago this weekend," I replied throwing the bag over my shoulder. "I think my bag gets heavier every time I pack it!"  
  
"Well, you do buy new clothes like every other day," he laughed.  
  
"I do have to keep up with the latest trends!" I said smiling.  
  
"Oh please! You're not Trish. You are your own trends!" he said grabbing my room key before we left.  
  
**********  
  
"You guys, I don't feel comfortable doing that to my hair," I replied as I sat in the lavish locker room with Paul and Steph.  
  
"You'll look great. I think it'd be a really good idea. You still look like you belong with Jeff," Steph smiled.  
  
"Yeah, because I do!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Well, tough. You're doing it!" Paul said.  
  
"Don't make me hurt you," I said shaking my head at him.  
  
"Right," he muttered. "Well, I gotta go cut a promo. Bye ladies." He kissed Steph quickly and ran out of the room.  
  
"Alright, so what are you doing to him tonite?" Steph asked crossing her arms.  
  
"Why what ever do you mean?" I asked looking as innocent as possible as Shannon walked in.  
  
"I did exactly what you told me to do," he said holding out a bottle of shampoo.  
  
"What's that?" Steph asked.  
  
"Paul's shampoo," I answered taking it from Shannon and looking inside the bottle.  
  
"No, really, what is it?" she persisted.  
  
"You'll see after his match," I smiled.  
  
"He's gonna hate you," Shannon said.  
  
"Correction, he's gonna hate US!" I laughed.  
  
"Evil," Shannon smiled.  
  
"Exactly why we're teaming her with Sean O' Haire," Steph laughed.  
  
I stood in the gorilla position watching the monitor as Sean was getting his ass kicked by Kurt. I had to wait for the right moment before I could run out there. I crossed my arms over my Mystic Angel t-shirt that I had cut up so badly it was barely there. Then all of a sudden the crowd started cheering wildly and Kurt had Sean in the ankle lock. I ran out there and around to the side that Kurt was closest to. I grabbed his leg and yanked him as hard as possible just before Sean's hand hit the mat to tap out. Kurt landed outside the ring with a thud and I began up the ramp. I turned around and watched Sean put Kurt into the Prophecy. I smiled at him as he looked up at me. He nodded at me and I disappeared into the back.  
  
"I guess we know Angel's response to Sean saving her last week on Smackdown," King said.  
  
"It looks to be a positive reaction. I wonder if she'll take Sean up on his offer to be his manager. That would be one team I wouldn't want to mess with," JR said.  
  
"I wonder what her fiancé, Jeff Hardy, would think about her teaming with Sean O' Haire," King said as they went to commercial.  
  
"Well, during the commercial break cameras followed Kurt Angle in Shane McMahon's office. Take a look at what happened," JR said.  
  
"I demand a match Shane," Kurt exclaimed slamming the door behind him.  
  
"You demand a match?!" Shane repeated.  
  
"Yes, I want a match against Sean O' Haire and Mystic Angel!" he replied.  
  
"A handicap match?" Shane laughed.  
  
"Yes, is that supposed to be funny? Cause I don't see the humor here," Kurt said.  
  
"You do realize that both of them are strong competitors by themselves, right? Teaming them up could be murderous, Kurt," Shane said.  
  
"Shane, are you forgetting that I won gold at the Olympics with a broken freakin neck?!" Kurt yelled pulling out his medals.  
  
"No, Kurt, I didn't forget. I'm not sanctioning this match," Shane refused.  
  
"Oh you most certainly will! Or I'll go to Stephanie and have her sign the match for tomorrow nite on Smackdown!" Kurt threatened.  
  
"Kurt, I'm not signing that match either. I agree with my brother," Stephanie said walking into Shane's office. "But I do have a way you can get back at both of them. Not in a handicap match, but in a tag match."  
  
"Fine, I'll go find a partner then," Kurt said moving towards the door.  
  
"I'm not done yet, Kurt," Steph smiled. He turned around and stared at her as she continued. "Sean O' Haire and Mystic Angel versus Kurt Angle and Victoria."  
  
"That sounds perfect Steph. Victoria was just in here yelling at me about last week and wanting a rematch. I'll definitely sign that!" Shane smiled.  
  
"Fine, just as long as I get a piece of the both of them, I don't care," Kurt said walking out of the office.  
  
"Well King, looks like we'll get a look at how well Sean O' Haire and Mystic Angel will work together next week right here on RAW when they go up against the strange pairing of Victoria and Kurt Angle," JR said.  
  
"That's certain to be an unusual match. All four competitors have different styles. We'll have to see how well they all work together," King said as they went to another commercial.  
  
"Are we ready to go Case?" Shane asked me as I stood in front of Paul's locker room.  
  
"Uh-uh," I replied staring at the door.  
  
"Oh no, you and Shannon didn't do something again did you?" he asked setting his stuff down next to mine.  
  
"Maybe," I smiled sweetly at him.  
  
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Paul yelled. I jumped up in excitement as Steph ran out of the room.  
  
"Casey, you are in serious trouble," she laughed. "My husband is going to kill you!"  
  
"I know, but isn't it awesome?! How'd it work?!" I asked as Shannon ran up to us.  
  
"So?! What happened?!" Shannon exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"Go in and take a look for yourselves," Steph continued to laugh as the four of us walked into the locker room. In one of Paul's hands was the shampoo bottle. While the other was covered in a tannish brown goo. His hair was dripping with both the goo and water.  
  
"UGH! I hate you two!" he screamed at Shannon and I as we all laughed at him. "What the fuck is this in my hair?!"  
  
"Shannon, shall you tell him, since you made it?" I asked smiling.  
  
"I think you should field that one since this was all your idea," Shannon responded moving back towards the door in fright.  
  
"Well, Paul, what you have in your hair, on your hand, and in your shampoo bottle is mixture of water and peanut butter," I smiled mischievously.  
  
"You best be fuckin with me!" he yelled storming over to me, gripping his towel tightly around his waist.  
  
"I think you know me well enough to know that I'm not fuckin with you," I replied.  
  
"You're gonna die. I'm gonna see to it!" he yelled walking back into the showers.  
  
"Another great prank pulled by yours truly!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Hey, you didn't do this alone," Shannon spoke quietly putting his hands on his hips.  
  
"Another great prank pulled by the King and Queen of Pranks," I corrected myself putting my arm around him. He smiled and kissed the top of my head before we all left Paul to shower in peace.  
  
*******************  
  
"Yeah, so I'm home and Jeff's not! This sucks, Dad," I exclaimed sitting at the kitchen table in the Hardy house. He laughed at me slid a cup of coffee at me. "I never get to see him cause I'm on the road all the time and then when I do get to come home, he's gone to some other city recording something!"  
  
"Honey, why don't you just go to Chicago and see him?" he asked wisely.  
  
"Because he didn't ask me to come with him," I pouted. "That's a stupid reason, isn't it?"  
  
He chuckled and smiled at me, putting his hand on mine. "Sweetie, he's your fiancé. You're going to be married soon. You don't need his permission to see him."  
  
"But what if he doesn't want me there?" I asked.  
  
"I'm sure he does. He misses you just as much as you miss him, if not more."  
  
"But I can't go anyways, I have so much to do for the wedding," I said standing to put my cup in the sink.  
  
"Casey, the wedding is a year away. You have 12 months to do what you need to do for it," he laughed at my foolishness. "Besides, I think both Amy and Matt pretty much have it covered."  
  
"Yeah, they have been doing like all our planning, haven't they?" I laughed.  
  
"They are taking their part as Maid of Honor and Best Man very seriously," he said.  
  
"Well, I gotta go do some food shopping anyways. I swear I don't know how this boy ate without me! He never has food in the house!" I laughed walking towards the door.  
  
"He leached off me!" Dad called after me.  
  
"Bye Dad!" I yelled walking out of the house. I walked along the dirt road back to the house, completely missing the fact that there was a car besides mine and Jeff's truck in the driveway. I walked into the house and sighed.  
  
"And where were you?" a voice asked from the living room.  
  
"I was out being depressed because you're not here with me like you should be. So I was at Dad's having some coffee and complaining to him," I replied walking by the room.  
  
"What?" the voice said.  
  
"I said, I was at Dad's complaining to him about you not being here!" I exclaimed turning to walk into the living room. I looked at the couch and saw him sitting there. Some of his purple and blue hair was pulled back into a ponytail and he still had on his sunglasses. He smiled at me and I had to shake my head to make sure he was truly there. "What the hell are you doin here?! You're supposed to be recording a cd in Chicago!"  
  
He stood and wrapped me up in his arms, lifting me off the floor. I put my hands on the sides of his face and kissed him deeply. When we parted we sat on the couch holding hands, his thumb stroking the back of my hand gently. "So what are you doing here?" I repeated.  
  
"Well, we're ahead of schedule on the recording, so I thought I'd come home for the weekend to be with you. I leave tomorrow nite after you leave for Alberta. Surprised?" he asked as I reached up to take his sunglasses off.  
  
"Oh hell yeah!" I laughed kissing him again. "I'm so happy to see you. I missed you so much." He rubbed my check softly before cupping my chin in his hand.  
  
"Care to go upstairs?" he wiggled his eyebrows and I nodded. We ran up the stairs ripping clothes off each other. We fell onto the large bed wrapped in each other's arms just as there was a knock on the door. I stopped kissing him, but he pulled me back into him. "Don't worry about it. Probably just fans or something."  
  
They knocked again and this time Jeff looked up. "Matt or Amy?" I suggested pulling him back down on top of me. They knocked again, harder and more rapidly. Jeff rolled off me and we sat up. "I'll get it," I said pulling the black wife-beater I had ripped off him just seconds before. I found his boxers and pulled them on as well.  
  
"I hope to god it's just Amy and Matt. Cause other wise they're in for a shock," Jeff laughed as I left the room sticking my tongue out at him. I skipped down the stairs and opened the door with a smile.  
  
"Can I," I trailed off when I looked at the people at the door. My heart seemed to catch in my throat as I blinked rapidly, hoping this was all just a crazy dream. I put my hand on my chest and breathed deeply, hoping I wouldn't pass out.  
  
"Casey," the woman spoke. Her hair was a mix of black and gray. Her clothes baggy and worn. The man that stood next to her had hair of silver. His eyes a cold steel gray. I closed my eyes tightly, hoping for them to disappear when I opened them.  
  
"Oh God," I breathed.  
  
****************  
  
A/N: DUN DUN DUNNNNN!!!! Cliff hanger!! Go me! Go me!! Don't worry, I'll update soon......like in a month! Hehe Nah, I'm not that cruel. Don't worry. You'll find out soon! 


	31. Curse of The Ex

I walked backwards gripping onto the table by the door to stop myself from falling in shock. I kept trying to wake myself from the obvious nitemare I was having. I just couldn't fathom the idea that this was real, that they were standing in front of me. I would have given anything for them to disappear into the dreamland, even if it meant that Jeff wasn't really there.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" I exclaimed, finally starting to grip onto reality.  
  
"Aren't we allowed to come see our daughter? Especially after she leaves us a quick message about getting married to God only knows who? Probably one of the men that beats her on a daily bases?" my mother asked as I heard Jeff move around upstairs.  
  
"I left that message to prove to you people that I'm better without you! Not for you come hunt me down again!" I yelled. "How'd you find me?"  
  
"Looked up your schedule online. When I saw you had no shows this weekend I figured you'd be here," she smiled.  
  
"How'd you find the house?" I asked.  
  
"Asked some of the local people where you lived and they said here," she answered. "So who is it, huh? I mean he must be here with you. We've obviously interrupted something."  
  
"Baby, who's at the door?" Jeff smiled walking down the stairs in a pair of sweats. He looked from my panic stricken face to the door and ran to my side. "What the hell is going on?!"  
  
"So you must be the one marrying her, huh?" she asked as the two of them stepped into the house. "I see how it works. You help her stupid ass out. She falls in love with you. And then out of pity, you ask her to marry you."  
  
"That's NOT what happened. I love her more than anything. And as for her being stupid?" he paused with a laugh. "I think she's very intelligent. Clearly she was smart enough to leave you people."  
  
"Well, I don't agree with this marriage," she said.  
  
"If we wanted your blessings we would have asked for them!" I yelled holding Jeff's hand tightly.  
  
"That's not why you called informing us about this?!" she laughed.  
  
"If it was, I would have left a number!" I argued.  
  
"Case, calm down baby," Jeff said softly as he faced me and ran his hand down my cheek. I nodded and he kissed my forehead.  
  
"Shane Helms, right?" my mother asked.  
  
"Shane Helms?" Jeff and I repeated in question.  
  
"That's you, right? I mean you're the one that's been with her since the beginning of this whole running away fiasco?" she asked.  
  
"No, Shane was my ex. This is Jeff Hardy. Shane and I haven't bee together for almost a year now," I replied angrily.  
  
"So you're pregnant then," she smiled.  
  
My eyes grew wide as I resisted the urge to kick my mother's ass. "I most certainly am not!" I screamed.  
  
"Well, there's got to be a reason for you getting married to this freak show!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Get out!" I screamed pointing to the door. "Get out of my house!"  
  
"More importantly get out of her life!" Jeff ordered. They shook their heads, but left without another word. The second the door clicked shut, I collapsed into Jeff's arms. "Are you alright babe?" he asked holding me close.  
  
"I called them. But I didn't think they'd ever show up here," I said softly.  
  
"I know, but they're gone now. We'll never have to see them again," Jeff said as we slowly walked up to our bedroom. We laid down holding each other and fell asleep.  
  
**********  
  
"Just get me a pop tart," I yawned tiredly.  
  
Shane nodded at me and ran off to the convenience store. We had gotten up earlier than normal because a major storm was hitting Texas, and hitting hard. Our flight had been cancelled, but we still need to make it to the show for the next nite. I rode to the airport with Jeff and saw him off before Shane and I rented a car. We were in some state, I had slept most of the way, and there was no way in hell we'd make the house show that nite, considering it was already 3 in the afternoon. Shane got into the Ford Focus and threw my pop tart, strawberry, and a bottle of chocolate milk at me.  
  
"I knew you'd want something to drink," he smiled answering the question in my head.  
  
"Thanks," I said breaking off a piece of the pop tart.  
  
"I called Shane. He said he'd fix the card and not to worry about the show tonite. He said the storm had damaged a lot, but was pretty much over and moving," Shane said answering my next question.  
  
"How the hell are you getting in my head?!" I exclaimed.  
  
He laughed at me as he turned back onto the interstate. "Don't you think I should know you well enough to know at least some of your thoughts by now?" he asked.  
  
"I suppose you're entitled to do that every once in awhile. But let me know when you are sneaking in there. So I can clear my mind," I said.  
  
"Gees, I don't really think you have to worry about clearing your mind."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Because it's clear of everything most of the time," he joked. I hit his shoulder and sulked in my seat. "Love you Angel."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said trying not to smile.  
  
"So, you never did finish telling me about your weekend," he yawned.  
  
"Oh that's right, I fell asleep. Well, Jeff came home, we did some wedding planning, my parents showed up, we had dinner with Amy, Matt, Shannon, and Crystal," I paused.  
  
"Whoa! Wait, back up there! Your parents showed up?!" he exclaimed glancing over at me as I nodded. "At the house?!" I nodded again. "What?!"  
  
"Yeah, out of stupidity I left a message on the answering machine telling them that I was engaged. And that was it. I didn't say to who, when, where, or any of that. I didn't leave a number or address. They decided to take it upon themselves to show up," I sighed.  
  
"So what happened with them there?" he asked.  
  
"Well, we got into a little tiff and Jeff and I threw them out. No biggie really. Went a hell of a lot smoother than any of the other altercations with them went," I shrugged.  
  
"I'm glad everything worked out alright. Good thing Jeff was there," he said.  
  
"Yeah, I know. Other wise I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now," I laughed. He looked at me sternly and shook his head.  
  
"Don't even joke about that," he said softly.  
  
"Um, enough with my weekend. Um, did Shane say where the storm was moving to?" I asked looking out the window.  
  
"No, but I'd assume it'd be gone by the time we get there tomorrow. We're probably gonna have to stay the nite in Mississippi," Shane replied. I nodded at him in agreement and went to change the fuzzing out station on the radio just as he did the same.  
  
"If you seem to be able to read my mind, shouldn't you have known I was going for the radio?" I asked with a smile as I turned to look at him.  
  
"Minor interference in my Sugar powers," he smiled at me.  
  
"Sugar powers?"  
  
"Yeah, ya know, instead of hurri-powers.  
  
"Oh my God. You need mental help."  
  
"If I need mental help, then what do you need?" He glanced over at me and I squinted in thought before we answered together, "Mental help." We broke out laughing and continued the drive.  
  
**********  
  
I tapped my foot as I waited for one of the slow techs to finish making his coffee at the table in the hall. I was all dressed for my match that nite, wearing a pair of silver UFO pants and a ripped up black wife- beater with a white one under it. My hair was pulled up into a ponytail and I had one of my long sleeved Mystic Angel shirts tied around my waist. The tech smiled at me and nodded before walking away. I gave him a sarcastic smirk as I watched walk away and muttered, "About damn time." I turned towards the table and it was now being blocked by a large 6'6", 275 lbs man. I crossed my arms and growled.  
  
"Oh, Angel, I'm glad you're here," he spoke with a sinister grin. "I wanted to speak to you."  
  
"That's great, now that you have, kindly move your ass so I can get some coffee," I smiled sarcastically at him. He moved aside and I went to pour the coffee into my mug, but nothing came out. He had taken the last of it. I slammed everything down and stared at him. "Okay, now that you've taken the last of the coffee, I'm gonna kick your ass!"  
  
"Sorry about that. Should have gotten to it faster," he replied. I let out a low growl and he chuckled. "But anyways, I just wanted to say that I'm glad you've taken up my offer to be my manager."  
  
"Whoa, hold up there Satan," I said. He laughed some more and I continued, "I did not agree to be your manager! Where the hell would you get that crazy idea?"  
  
"Well, you are walking out with me tonite for my match against Kurt Angle and Victoria," he replied.  
  
"Have you been sitting in that fiery pit called hell for too long so that it's fried your brain or what?! I am not your manager or your valet. I am your tag team partner for the nite. Get that through your thick skull!" I exclaimed as I rolled my eyes and walked off.  
  
"I'll see you for my match!" he called after me.  
  
"Who the hell does that Sean O'Haire think he is anyways?!" I said shuffling my feet as I moved down the hall. I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw Victoria and Kurt walking towards me. I knew this couldn't be good.  
  
"Mystic Angel, just the girl we were looking for," Kurt smiled as the ever psychotic Victoria rubbed her hands together. As for Kurt's hands, they were behind his back.  
  
I placed my hands on my hips and took a deep breath, this was going to be a long nite. "What do you two want?" I asked.  
  
"We just wanted to wish you luck in the match tonite. It's not going to be an easy one as I'm sure you know," Kurt said continuing that smile.  
  
"Thanks, but I don't need luck, especially when it's coming from you!" I said trying to push my way past but Victoria shoved me back.  
  
"Well, then we'll just have to wish, your partner, no Sean O'Haire, good luck tonite. Because he's going to be needing it!" Kurt exclaimed as he nailed me in the stomach with a steel pipe. I fell to the ground and Victoria began kicking me in the stomach. "Oh it's true. It's damn true!"  
  
"Well King looks like Angel will not be joining Sean O'Haire tonite in their tag match as planned. It just may very will be a handicap match," JR said.  
  
"Even hurt she's angelic looking," King swooned.  
  
"King, the girl was just hit with a steel pipe! I'm sure there's more to be concerned about here than how she looks! Like bruised or worse, broken ribs for instance!" JR said. "We'll be right back after this."  
  
Kurt pulled me to my feet and I dusted myself off. I thanked him and walked off to the trainers so they could tape my ribs up. Adam was in there getting his eye looked at. I smiled at him although he couldn't quite see me.  
  
"What happened?" I asked as Nick took scissors to my shirt, cutting the lower half of it off so the tapping around the ribs would show.  
  
"Brock nailed me in the eye with his finger by accident," Adam answered. "Everything's blurry out of that eye."  
  
"Are you sure it was by accident?" I laughed remembering how Adam had knocked Brock below the belt one night during a house show by accident. "Maybe it's pay back."  
  
"If it's pay back for that, I'll be payin him back again," Adam smiled at me. He blinked his eye a couple time and squeezed them tightly.  
  
"Getting any sight back?" Georgia, one of the new trainers, asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's coming back slowly," Adam said jumping off the table. "Thanks."  
  
"No problem Adam. Come back anytime. Well, don't, but do, um, never mind," she said rolling her eyes at herself.  
  
"I'll be sure to come to you again if anything bad happens to me," he laughed.  
  
"Please do!" she smiled. He whipped his head around at her and shook it. "Never mind."  
  
"Good luck kiddo," Adam said walking out of the room as I waved to him.  
  
"How's that feel? Too tight, too lose?" Nick asked patting the end of the tape down. I moved around a bit and smiled.  
  
"Perfecto Nicky Boy," I said. I jumped off the table. "Thanks man!" I walked out and towards the gorilla position before the match began.  
  
"The following match has been changed to a handicap match. Entering the ring first, weighing in at 275 lbs. From Hilton head South Carolina, he's the WWE Intercontinental Champion. SEAN O' HAIRE!" Sean slid into the ring and threw his coat off to the side. "On his way to the ring, weighing in at 235 lbs, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. KURT ANGLE! And his partner from San Bernardino. VICTORIA!" They attacked Sean instantly but he got the upper hand once the ref straightened them out and Kurt stood waiting for a tag from Victoria. I stood watching the monitor in the back, waiting for them to cue me in. Sean was in the Ankle Lock as Victoria laid outside the ring from a large clothesline from Sean. I ran down the ramp with a steel pipe in my hands, the crowd popped like crazy, and slid into the ring, grabbing at my ribs every once in awhile.  
  
"What the hell is Angel doing out here?! Her ribs are severely bruised! She was supposed to go back to her hotel!" JR yelled as I hit Kurt across the back with the pipe. The ref called for the bell, giving Kurt and Victoria the win from DQ. I continued to hit Kurt in the back while Sean recovered.  
  
"Hit me with a steel pipe will you?! Damn son of a bitch! You should know that a few bruised ribs won't keep this Angel down!" I screamed hitting him over and over again. Victoria got back in the ring but was stopped by Sean. The ref picked me up from behind, allowing Kurt to roll out of the ring along with Victoria. They ran up the ramp as Sean and I stood in the middle of the ring. Sean gave that sinister grin of his as I gave off a small smile. He put his arm around my waist gently as I grabbed my stomach, pretending to be in pain. "What kind of hell will break out on Thursday nite Smackdown!? We'll have to see where this heaven and hell partnership goes on Smackdown!"  
  
The show ended and Sean and I walked up the ramp together. Once back stage I said good bye to Sean and ripped off the tape around my stomach as I walked towards the Diva's locker room. I quickly grabbed my stuff and met Shane at the car, only being stopped by a couple fans.  
  
"Am I good sex?" Shane blurted out on the car ride to the airport. I swung my head around and looked at him in shock.  
  
"WHAT?!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Am I good in bed? Did you like having sex with me?" he asked.  
  
"Why the hell are you asking me this?" I asked.  
  
"Just curious."  
  
"Well, um, yeah, I enjoyed it," I said knowing fully well that my face was turning red from embarrassment.  
  
"Really? Do you have any complaints about it?"  
  
"None that I can think of."  
  
"Okay, thank you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, alright. I um, slept with a um, well, with a girl, um, that I met last Monday nite after the show," he said nervously.  
  
"Oh, a ring rat," I said softly.  
  
"Yeah, unfortunately. But anyways, she complained. Like she said that she's had better. And I was just wondering if you felt the same."  
  
"No, Shane, I don't. Like you say, you're sugar. You melt in the mouth," I smiled. He blushed as he laughed at my comment.  
  
"Thanks Angel. I knew I could count on you to bring my spirits up." He held my hand tightly in his.  
  
"Shane, I don't know if you should really be sleeping with these girls. I mean you know nothing about them. What if, what if they're dirty, ya know?" I asked.  
  
"A risk I guess I'm willing to take. Casey, you don't know what it's like to be alone at nite. To wish you had that person with you. I need certain needs fulfilled. Especially when the girl I'm fantasizing about is in the next room," he replied.  
  
"Oh. I see," I said feeling almost ashamed.  
  
"I mean it's not your fault. It's mine. I just can't get over you like I should. I know I have to, but it's hard."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"No, I'm sorry. I said we shouldn't be going back into the past and here I am dipping into our past."  
  
"You're just saying what you feel. Friends should be able to say this stuff to each other, right?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm not friends with a lot of my exes."  
  
"It's like curse of the ex, right?" I laughed.  
  
"Something like that," he laughed with me. "I love you Angel."  
  
"I know. I love you too Sugar."  
  
******************  
  
A/N: So there you have it! The people at the door were her parents! If you got that right, you are now the proud owner of..........well, nothing. Sorry. Lol Just be happy you were right. lol Alright, so now that this chapter is done, I'm gonna go decide on my tattoo. I can't decide if I want a dragon, which I do, but I'm having trouble deciding on the dragon I want. Or an Amy Brown fairy. She's my new obsession. She's an excellent artist. If you're a Hot Topic fan you probably know who I'm talking about. Yeah, so I either wanna get Raven or Blue Fairy, I think that's what she's called, for a tattoo. Hmmm, decisions, decisions. But anyways, I'm gonna give ya'll a heads up and timeline for the month. I'm gonna try to get a Connection chapter and Without You chapter out every week this month. But on August 22, God help me, I'm going to NY to visit my grandmother from hell for the weekend. So I won't be writing for three days. Then on the 30th, I'm going to Kentucky for the week. I plan on writing on the plane. But that's it. So I'll be gone for a week there. I'll be back on September 6th. So, um, I think that's it. So, LATA!! 


	32. Adventures in Dress Shopping

A/N: I apologize about this one chapter per story a week thing. I obviously didn't follow through with it. That's due to writer's block syndrome. And the fact that I can't type and sing at the same time. lol I've recently downloaded like 8 songs that I really like and I have to listen to music whenever I'm on the computer. So I sing and get caught up in the music instead of typing. Oops. Lol I'm sure ya'll have noticed that my author name is now Bade. That's because of the new thing that ff.net decided to do. I didn't like Donna3. That was just dumb. So I decided on using Bade. Also, if you look on my profile I changed my AIM name. So check that out if ya want or need to IM me. Oh, I had the best Shane dream EVER!! He told Shannon he was falling in love with me. ::Sigh:: lol And I've been having some funky assed dreams involving Ben and others involving coyotes. Anyways, lol, I got side tracked. Lol On with the chapter!  
  
*****************  
  
"Oh my God! Your hair!" Jessy yelled after dropping her carry on bag and hugging me, she lifted a chunk of my now deep red Amy colored hair. I smiled as the blonde chunks in the front that framed my face fell over my eyes. I looked her over, realizing that she hadn't changed in the almost year that I hadn't seen her. I helped her with her bags and we climbed into Jeff's pickup to drive home. "This is a nice truck."  
  
"Yeah, it's Jeff's baby," I laughed.  
  
"I never thought I'd ever see you drive one," she said.  
  
"Yeah, well, I kinda grabbed the wrong keys. He'll probably shoot me when he finds out that I took it without asking. But I was running late so I didn't care," I said shaking my head.  
  
"Has Jeff seen your hair?" she asked.  
  
"No, I had it done yesterday before a house show and he's not home this weekend. He won't see it till Monday nite when he watches RAW," I answered. "But he sounds really anxious to see it."  
  
"I'm sure. It looks really good. And speaking of RAW, what's going on with this whole thing with Sean O' Haire?" she asked curiously.  
  
"I'd love to tell ya, but can't. You'll just have to wait like everyone else," I laughed. "It's so good to see you! How's Jesse?"  
  
"Tired," she chuckled. "He's been working a lot at the airport as a mechanic. But he loves it."  
  
"So if something happens to a plane that I get on in Bangor, I can blame it on him?" I questioned.  
  
"Yeah, sure, go for it," she answered shaking her head. She looked over at me and studied my clothes, black cargos and an Amy Brown fairy tank top. She took a deep breath and smiled, looking out the window.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"I just can't believe we're going shopping for your wedding dress today," she said.  
  
"Yeah, that's what Sara said when I talked to her on the phone this morning," I laughed.  
  
"Sara, she's Mark's wife, right?" she said unsure.  
  
"Yeah, that'd be Dad's wife. She flew in last nite and stayed with Matt and Amy. She brought Kalista with her, so that should be interesting," I laughed thinking of my little sister running around the bridal places and being adored by all the customers.  
  
"Ya know, Jesse and I were thinking about having a baby," she said suddenly.  
  
"Really?!" I exclaimed whipping my head around in shock.  
  
"Yeah, I think we may start to try," she smiled shyly.  
  
"That's awesome!"  
  
"Yeah, his mom is really happy about the idea."  
  
"I'm sure."  
  
"How long after you Jeff get married do you think you'll wait to have a baby?"  
  
"Oh wow, I don't know. I mean it'd probably depend on how his music career is going, how my music career is going, and how wrestling is going. I don't think I want to wait too long, cause he is getting up there in years. But I want us both to be ready for it."  
  
"That's understandable." She looked around her as we pulled onto a side road and passed Dad's house. We pulled into the driveway and she looked utterly frightened as she saw the giant statue standing in the middle of it. I shut off the truck and she slowly, cautiously got out of the truck, pulling her bags with her.  
  
"Welcome to the ImagI-Nation," I smiled spreading my arms in welcome.  
  
"The imagi what?" she asked staring at the house and looking by it to the bizarrely graffiti trailer that was the studio. She studied the statues and saw the volcano peeking over the studio.  
  
"The ImagI-Nation," I repeated. "That's what Jeff calls home. That what WE call home. It's like stepping into a whole new country. A whole new world where nothing else matters and you can be whoever you want to be. This is home." I smiled at her before walking ahead of her to the house.  
  
"That's the most bizarre thing I've ever heard of," she said. I laughed at her as Liger and Luna ran out by us into the front yard.  
  
"Excuse the smell of Jeff in the house. The boy doesn't understand how to clean up after himself and I didn't have time to clean up cause I got back really early this morning from a show in South Carolina," I said picking up stray articles of clothing.  
  
"What's with the plants?" she asked pointing into the den as we walked by.  
  
"Jeff never had time to care for real plants so he got fake ones and he got addicted to it. So that's their room," I laughed. "Don't be afraid of all the statues and paintings either. His artwork and some that I've helped him with. Totally harmless."  
  
"So says the woman that lives with them," she muttered moving away from large statue that stood in the hall. "What's in that room?" She pointed to a closed door that had a sign on it saying 'Keep door closed'.  
  
"Oh, that's where our animals live," I answered casually pulling her upstairs with me.  
  
"Animals?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, Jeff's prairie dog, Witty, his raccoon Imagi, and my sugar glider Misfit. We had an iguana, but Zeus died last year," I said setting her stuff down in a spare room. "Well, this is your room for the weekend. My room is across the hall. Um, well, why don't we go to Matt and Amy's and pick up the other girls and start this dress hunt!"  
  
I led her down the dirt road to Matt's house and we walked in, being bombarded by the other girls. Matt and Shannon were in the living room playing with Shannon's daughter and K. When K saw me in the doorway she ran to me and jumped into my arms.  
  
"Hey K!" I said happily hugging her tightly.  
  
"Oh thank God you're here!" Sara laughed. "She's been asking and bugging me when you're gonna get here. If you had gotten here any later you'd be telling Mark I'd killed myself."  
  
"And all of us," Trish muttered to Nora causing her to snicker.  
  
"Aw, K, were you buggin mommy?" I asked with a smile.  
  
"Uh-huh," she smiled back giving me the biggest smile you could ever imagine. I laughed and walked into the living room, setting her on the floor next to Shannon and Crystal's daughter Jazzylnn Willow. I stood after kissing her cheek and walked into the kitchen where the girls were.  
  
"OH! Jessy, I'm so sorry. Crystal, Sara, this is my friend Jessy. Jessy this Shannon's wife Crystal and Daddy's wife Sara," I said introducing them.  
  
"Well, are we ready to get wedding dress shopping?!" Crystal asked putting a camera in her bag.  
  
"Wait, I was given strict instructions to give this Casey today," Matt said walking out of the living room with a package in his hands.  
  
"For me? From who?" I asked taking it from him and sitting at the table.  
  
"Who else?! Jeff," he smiled crossing his arms as I smiled and opened the package. Inside was a framed picture of Amy Brown's "Always" picture, a girl fairy being purposed to by a boy fairy.  
  
"AWWW," the others chorused as I looked behind me and saw the girls with their arms around each other and smiling.  
  
"Oh my God! I so have to call him!" I exclaimed jumping over the chair with the picture in my hands.  
  
"OH NO!" the girls yelled as one grabbed me.  
  
"No way, if we let you get on the phone with him now, we'll never get out of here!" Nora laughed as Crystal let my arm go.  
  
"Fine, be that way," I pouted. I walked towards the door and noticed no one was behind me. "Are we GOING now?!"  
  
"Figures, she's always the last to be ready to go, and the first out the door!" Trish said shaking her head.  
  
***************  
  
"Welcome!" a woman called with a bright smile as she walked up to the group of us. Her hair was starting to turn gray and she wore glasses pushed down to the tip of her nose. She had on a smock with pins and measuring tape hanging out of the pockets. This had been the 3rd store we had gone to and we were all very tired. "Well, who's the happy bride?"  
  
"At this moment in time, I'm not sure I'm very happy," I smiled before yawning.  
  
"Ah, we've been out all day and come up empty handed?" she asked.  
  
"Oh yeah," Amy and Crystal said together as they slumped down on a plush love seat.  
  
"Well, I hope we can help with that problem. When's the wedding?" she asked never losing that smile we walked in to.  
  
"May 1st," I answered realizing I was smiling too.  
  
"Now there's the happy bride!" she rejoiced. "Now, are we looking for bridesmaid dresses and wedding dresses?" I nodded at her and she led us to a rack of dresses. "Why don't you start here? If you need any help you let me know." We all nodded politely at her as she walked away.  
  
"Oh, I like this one!" Nora exclaimed holding a peach colored, short sleeved, full length, business looking dress.  
  
"Not on your life!" Jessy laughed. Nora shrugged and put the dress back.  
  
"Case, what about this one?" Amy asked pulling out a black, strapless dress that had knee high slits on both sides.  
  
"Yeah, I like that, go try it on," I smiled. Amy skipped, literally, off to a changing room as we continued to look through the racks.  
  
"Oh Case, this dress is gorgeous," Sara said handing me a pure white wedding gown with off the shoulder sleeves and lots of bead work on the top.  
  
"Yeah, go try that on," Trish ordered pointing the room next to Amy. I changed into it as fast as possible and when I walked out they were all waiting for me, Amy in the dress she tried on.  
  
"This isn't it," I shook my head.  
  
"No, it's not. But what do you not like about it?" Crystal asked fluffing up the skirt as I stepped up onto a short pedestal.  
  
"Um, the sleeves, mostly. They'd bug the hell outta me. I keep wanting to pull them up onto my shoulders," I smiled doing just that, pulling them up.  
  
"Alright, keep looking," Amy sighed as the others went back to the search.  
  
"You don't like the bridesmaid dress either, huh?" I asked with a smile.  
  
"Not even a little bit," Amy laughed as we disappeared into our rooms.  
  
"Casey, do you like this dress?" Jessy asked holding a sleeveless, slim fitting dress up to herself. All I did was point to the room and she walked into it. Trish had followed her into the one next to hers and tried on a spaghetti strap dress. Trish was the first to walk out, Jessy always being a slow dresser, and we all shook our heads at it. She shrugged and walked right back in the room just as Jessy emerged, again all of us shaking our heads at her.  
  
"Wow, I've never hated dress shopping so much," Nora whispered to Crystal.  
  
I grabbed a few dresses off the rack and dragged them into the dressing room with me. I walked out in a spaghetti strapped slim fitting dress. There was no poof to the skirt and it was very plain looking. Everyone shook their heads with me and I went right back into the dressing room as they all continued to look for bridesmaid dresses.  
  
"I think if I try on one more dress I may kill myself," I said walking out in a strapless dress that had a full skirt and bead work going across the front to the back.  
  
"That's a pretty one though. And it does look good on you," Jessy said standing next to me with a dress on.  
  
"Yeah, but I'll be pulling it up all day. And I really don't want to fight with that," I sighed putting my hands on my hips. "I have one more dress in there. If I don't like that one, then we're leaving and I will not be getting married in a wedding dress."  
  
"Oh yes you will be!" they all yelled at me. I rolled my eyes and carefully walked back into the dressing room.  
  
"You guys, this is the bridesmaid dress. Look at it!" Amy smiled as she spun around in a black, full length, slim, spaghetti strapped dresses that had little flowers in white embroidered on it.  
  
"Oh my God," Crystal breathed.  
  
"That's so the one!" Trish exclaimed looking Amy over.  
  
"I know. Casey!! Hurry up, we found the bridesmaid dress!!" Amy called to me.  
  
I slowly walked out of the dressing room and everyone hushed as all eyes were on me. I stepped onto the pedestal and looked at the three mirrors that surrounded me. My eyes started to water as everyone walked over to me.  
  
"This is the one. I just know it," I cried putting my hand up to my face. Sara took my hand in her's and started crying before anyone could think to.  
  
"You're so beautiful," she cried rubbing her thumb over the back of my hand.  
  
"Casey, it's gorgeous," Nora said as they all started crying.  
  
"I don't want any other dress. This is it. I know it!" I smiled happily turning to look at them. "Is this how you four felt when you tried on your dress?"  
  
"I didn't cry, but I was in love with mine," Jessy smiled wiping her cheeks.  
  
"You know immediately. I couldn't have imagined getting married in a different dress," Crystal said.  
  
"Wow. I never thought I was gonna find it," I laughed. I stood there, continuing to stare at myself, not wanting to take my dress off.  
  
"Well, sounds like you found the dress," the woman said with that same smile as she walked up to us.  
  
"Yeah, I have. And the bridesmaid dresses too," I smiled. She nodded and started taking all our measurements as well as the colors and other information.  
  
It was dark before we finally left the boutique. When we got back to the houses the guys had a BBQ all set up and ready to go. I played with K for a while until I saw a car drive up the driveway. It was Shane's black manta and I ran up to it, K following me closely.  
  
"So how was your date with Georgia?" I asked before he even had a chance to get out of the car.  
  
"Hello to you too," he laughed.  
  
"SHANEY!!" K exclaimed. He smiled at her and picked her up.  
  
"So?!" I said.  
  
"We had fun, but she's not my type. So Angel, but it's not gonna happen," he said.  
  
"Oh, sorry," I said sadly was we walked to the back of Matt and Amy's house where the party was.  
  
"Don't be sorry. You tried. Sometimes things just don't work out," he said setting K down to run to her mother. "I think she's gotten cuter."  
  
"Yeah, definitely," I smiled.  
  
"So, did you get a dress?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I did. Wanna see pictures?!" I asked excitedly.  
  
"I'd rather be surprised. I'm sure it's beautiful," he kissed my cheek and joined Shannon and Matt by the bucket of beers.  
  
"Did I just hear right? That you set Shane and Georgia up?" Amy asked.  
  
"Yeah, I did, but it didn't work out," I said with a shrug before walking over to the picnic table to sit with Crystal and Jessy.  
  
"Shane and Georgia? They wouldn't work together," Trish said.  
  
"I know. Do you get the feeling that maybe she knew this but did it on purpose so that Shane would be available?" Amy asked.  
  
"I think that may just be the reason for it," Nora sighed.  
  
***********  
  
"Thank you so much for the picture," I said to Jeff over the phone. I laid down on the bed and sighed.  
  
"Well, you love Amy Brown and I thought you'd like to have this one since we're getting married," he said, I could just see the smile on his face.  
  
"I love it. I love you."  
  
"I love you too. Did you get the dresses?"  
  
"Yep, the dresses are all ordered."  
  
"Good. How long did it take for that to happen?" he laughed.  
  
"All damn day!" I exclaimed.  
  
"I'm not surprised. I'm sure it's perfect."  
  
"My dress is perfect!"  
  
"So, tell me more about your hair. You've been very vague as to what you've done to it."  
  
"No, you'll see tomorrow nite on RAW. You'll get to see the whole new me!"  
  
"THE WHOLE NEW YOU?!" he yelled.  
  
I laughed and replied, "The new clothes and new hair."  
  
"I don't know if I like the sound of all this."  
  
"Tough honey. You'll have to live with it!"  
  
"Where's this relationship with Sean goin on the show anyways?"  
  
"You'll see tomorrow nite."  
  
"Why is everything a big secret with you?"  
  
"Because I want you to be surprised. Although you won't like the Sean surprise. I don't like that surprise. But it's happening so we have to deal with it."  
  
"I'll deal with it, but I don't have to like it."  
  
"I love you Jeff."  
  
"I love you too Case." 


	33. Dead Beds Everywhere

A/N: Hey, did anyone read my last chapter? Cause I got NO reviews for it. Just curious. Oh, I don't own the songs, of course. They're "Haunted" by Evanescence and "All my Friends Crush You" by Neurotica, which I hear is the song Sean had before the totally awesome one he has now. But I honestly don't remember the song he used to have, so whatever. I'm using it anyways! Lol And excuse any errors. I didn't re-read this chapter cause it was 1:30 am when I finished it, and I was starting to get all blurry eyed. So sorry about that!  
  
*****************  
  
'Watching me  
  
Wanting me  
  
I can feel you pull me down  
  
Fearing you  
  
Loving you  
  
I won't let you pull me down'  
  
My sinister grin was just as wide as his. I stood at the top of the ramp, watching him stand in the ring. With my microphone in hand, I stopped the match.  
  
"Sean, you've been bugging me for awhile now to be your valet or manager. Well, I have a proposition for you. Yes, I'm the Cruiserweight champion. Yes, I'm the hardcore champion. But I want a tag belt around my waist. And I know you'd love to have more than just the Intercontinental title. I can see it in your eyes. So how about it? Heaven and Hell form a team? Sean O'Haire and Mystic Angel partner up?" I said. He stared at me for quite sometime. His eyes studying my body, from my brand new hair down my black tank top and flare clad body, to my black combat boots. "Sean, I see you looking at my changed appearance. I did this for you. I wanted to get rid of the old me and bring in the new me. Sean, you're a part of the new me. Will you be my tag partner and my manager? And in return I'll do the same for you." He gave me a simple nod and gave me a grin. "Good. Now, get out of that ring and let's go find us a real match." He pushed some poor Indy wrestler out of the way and rolled under the ropes. He met me at the top of the ramp and stared down at me. I licked my lips and gave him a little wink before disappearing behind the curtains.  
  
"Casey! Maggie just finished your top, she wants you to go try it on to make sure it's a perfect fit," Laura, one of the wardrobe assistants called to me at the end of the hall  
  
"Thanks Laura!" I waved to her with a smile.  
  
"David wants to see you and Sean about the music," Kristen, a tech intern said.  
  
"Tell him I'll be there in about 5 minutes," I replied as I took off down the hall for the locker room with wardrobe in it.  
  
"Here, try this on!" Maggie cried throwing my new wrestling outfit at me. I quickly changed and cringed when I looked in the mirror. "It's great! I'll make a black one with purple flames and a red one with black flames. Just for variety." She smiled as she straightened the flared pant legs. She looked up at me and stood, putting her hands on her hips. "What's the matter?"  
  
"No offence to the work you do on Trish's wardrobe or any of the other girls', but I look just like them," I said staring at her through the mirror.  
  
"That's good. You're supposed. Look, the flames are what make you, you now. It's what Vince wants. And what Vince wants, Vince gets," Maggie said. "Alright, I can alter it a bit. What do you want done?"  
  
"Okay, is there some way to cut flames in the top, like over my chest instead of under? And make the top shorter. Kinda like a sports bra type top. And put a colored piece of the fabric under my top to replace the cut out. Other than that, I guess it's okay," I said.  
  
"Alright, give me the top and I'll see what I can do in 5 minutes to it. Laura is finishing your trench coat right now. You can pick up the top and coat then. Might as well keep the pants on. One less thing you'll have to rush to get into," she smiled as I threw the top at her.  
  
"Thank you! I'll be back in a few!" I yelled as I ran out of the room. I ran down the hall towards the sound trailer and skipped the steps as I ran up. I reached for the door handle just as the door opened and banged me in the head. I tumbled down the couple of steps and landed on the cement ground with a thud. "Owe." I rubbed my head with my hand and pouted. "Damn doors."  
  
"You okay?" Sean asked trying his hardest not to laugh. I looked up at him with a glare and he helped me up. "I was just going to go find you. Sorry about that." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I struggled to walk. "You okay?"  
  
"My ass," I whined as we entered the small quarters of the trailer. "Now what's goin on? Cause I'm VERY busy tonite." Sean and I settled the little problem with the sound guys, Jericho's right, they are monkeys and I ran back down to wardrobe.  
  
"How's it fit?" Maggie asked as I walked out from behind the changing screen.  
  
"Not my baggy jeans, but it'll do. Thanks Mags," I smiled.  
  
"Oh, wait, you're not finished yet!" she said grabbing the black trench coat with blue flames down the sleeves and on the back. I slipped it on and looked at myself in the mirror. She smoothed out the pleather and smiled. "Perfect."  
  
"Casey! We need you!!"  
  
"Well, duty calls. Thanks again Mags. And you two Laura," I smiled as I skipped off to the Diva's locker room for a vignette. I picked threw my coat on the bench and picked up my cell phone, waiting for them to call action.  
  
"Listen Jeff, it's just not working out! I can't deal with all this long distance. I'm breaking all this off," I smiled. "No, there's nothing that can be done. The next time I'm home, you'll get your ring back. Bye." I hung up with a grin and tossed the engagement ring in the air, catching it I threw it into one of my bags. I picked up my coat and threw it over my shoulder. "Sean O' Haire, here I come."  
  
"This can't be true! Angel and Jeff Hardy have called it quits?! They were the perfect couple! What the hell has happened to the WWE's sweet little Angel?!" JR exclaimed as they went to commercial.  
  
"How's your ass?" Sean laughed standing next to me in the hall as I stretched up for our match.  
  
"Bruised," I laughed in response. He pulled me to my feet and shook his head.  
  
"Not the little angel you once were, huh?" he asked.  
  
"What can I say? Lucifer has corrupted me," I smiled.  
  
"Welcome to the dark side," he nodded at me. I rolled my eyes at him and waited for us to be called.  
  
I slipped the coat over my black and blue flamed halter top. I pulled it over me so no one could see the clothes I was wearing. My pants were much like Trish's with blue flames on the flares. I had bought new boots, now they were black calf high buckled boots with blue flames painted on the side. I had a pair to match every one of my new outfits. I rolled my shoulders just as they waved us for the match. I put on my act and stood next to Sean in the gorilla position. Fire surrounded the staged and smoke filled the arena as the lights went down. We walked out and stood next to each other, his arms crossed and my hands on my hips, sharing the same sinister grin.  
  
'Every now and then I'm fending for my circle  
  
my clique are my everything  
  
on stage is my sanctuary where I don't feel alone  
  
when away around certain kinds of energy  
  
I feel they drain everything  
  
these times I say to myself that  
  
all my friends they  
  
all my friends they CRUSH!'  
  
The lights came back up and the fire disappeared. We appeared through the smoke and opened my coat just as Sean did the same. We looked at each other and nodded, the crowd giving us mixed reactions.  
  
'ALL MY FRIENDS CRUSH YOU!  
  
like a red velvet Elvis  
  
ALL MY FRIENDS  
  
they shit on you  
  
ALL MY FRIENDS CRUSH YOU  
  
yeah I'm talking to you man  
  
ALL MY FRIENDS  
  
they shit on you'  
  
"Now entering the ring, the challengers, Sean O'Haire and Mystic Angel!" We strode down the ramp and stood in front of the ring, staring at our opponents, Mark Jindrak and Randy Orton. I slid into the ring as he jumped onto the apron. We both posed on the posts before throwing our coats out of the ring. I climbed out of the ring and let him work first. He and Randy locked up and the match began. I had tried for a 450 splash at one point in the match and the left leg of my pants ripped, which got quite the pop for the male portion of the crowd. In the end, Sean had gotten the pin with crucifix powerbomb. I climbed through the ropes and stood next to him. We smiled at each other before raising our hands in the air. We turned to face each other and shared a hot kiss. There was a mixed reaction as we split apart. No one was sure whether they wanted us to be together or not. It was almost like there was a hush, until a heavy New York accent was heard.  
  
"Hey, Hell and Heaven or whatever you're callin yourselves! Who do you think you are? You barge in on the tag team scene and think you're the shit just because you beat one lousy team. And I do mean lousy. You want to be the best, you have to beat the best. And we just happen to be the best, right D-Von?" Bubba said. We looked up at the half brothers and shook our heads. "You want a shot at us? You got one! At Unforgiven, it'll be the Dudley Boyz versus Team can't decide whether they're good or bad!"  
  
I rolled my eyes them as Sean replied, "YOU'RE ON!" The Dudleys walked away and we climbed out of the ring, walking up the ramp as if we had some sort of purpose.  
  
"Love those pants, Case," Sean laughed tossing a bottle of water at me.  
  
"Shut up," I smirked hitting his shoulder with the bottle. "I'm so pissed. I can't even get em fixed. Maggie left already so I have to wait till next Monday."  
  
"Laura can't fix them?" he asked as we walked down the hall together.  
  
"Nah, I think they have to be remade. So I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do with the house show on Wednesday."  
  
"Pretend your Chyna at the VMAs?" Jay suggested laughing as he walked by us.  
  
"Whew! Jay, they have this stuff called deodorant! You may want to look into it!" I called after him. He turned around, walking backwards, and gave me the finger, but he fell right over a table. Sean and I bent over in laughter as Jay jumped back up and looked around, hoping no one saw it, but we all did. He straightened his shirt and casually walked away.  
  
"I'll see you Wednesday, Case," Sean laughed walking in the opposite direction I was going. I sipped my water, waving to a few techs as I walked by them, and entered the locker room.  
  
"Love the pants girl. They're a nice statement," Amy laughed pulling her hair into a ponytail, getting ready for a mixed tag match with Matt against Nora and Peter.  
  
"Oh gee, thanks. They're all the rage in Paris," I joked grabbing my engagement ring and slipping it back on my finger. "Welcome home." I kissed its surface and grabbed my stuff to get in the shower.  
  
**********  
  
"I love you baby," I said before yawning as Shane I drove down the dark interstate towards Detroit, where we'd be stopping to spend the nite/morning, before we would fly out to Oregon.  
  
"I don't like this storyline. Who's idea was it for you to make out with Sean on tv?!" Jeff exclaimed. I sighed into the phone, I knew he'd get pissed about it. "And who decided it'd be a good idea for you to throw your ring into your bag and break up with me?!"  
  
"It was Steph's and Vince's. They needed me to go someplace and they figured this was the way to go since you were gone. I agreed with them. They asked me if I would feel uncomfortable, and I said no. So I'm doin it, deal!" I said.  
  
"Well, I don't like it," he muttered.  
  
"I know. Hey, if you were still here, it'd be you I was kissing and not him," I smiled.  
  
"Oh don't start Casey," he warned.  
  
"I'm not, I was just kidding. How's the record coming?" I asked.  
  
"Not well. Baby, I have like no inspiration without you," he said.  
  
"Aw, I love you so much and I miss you more than ever imaginable."  
  
"I wish we could just spend a whole week together with no interruptions. Just you, me, the animals, the bed," he laughed.  
  
"Me too, but that won't be happening for a long time. Probably Christmas," I sighed.  
  
"That's too far away!"  
  
"I know, but what can we do?"  
  
"Nothing I suppose."  
  
"Well, you're gonna be home Wednesday and Thursday, right?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"Could you possibly go to the caterers that I have listed by the phone in the kitchen and get menus from each place? And write down your opinions for each one for me? And get the guys' measurements so you can get the tuxes ready. Please?"  
  
"Of course baby. I'll do that."  
  
"And call the photographers too? Get prices and shit?"  
  
"Gotcha. I'll get that done and have it ready for the next time you're home. Which will be when?"  
  
"In two weeks. Monday after Unforgiven," I answered as Shane pulled into a rest stop where the convenience store was conveniently open 24/7.  
  
"Jesus Christ! I'll be working on the album. We're never gonna see each other again."  
  
"Jeff, we'll see each other soon. I'm home till Friday that week. Playing an injury. Can you make it home anytime that week?"  
  
"I can try to make it Wednesday. I just want to be with you. Play with your new hair. Rub your shoulders. Kiss you, all of you."  
  
"I want that too. I gotta go. Shane and I are gonna run in and get something to eat from this store. We're starved. I love you."  
  
"I love you too. Be careful at your house show. Don't get any more concussions or anything during your Hardcore match."  
  
"I'll try not too!" I laughed. "Bye." I waited to hear him hang up first and then I followed. Shane was already in the store looking around when I walked in.  
  
"So, how's the perfect couple?" he asked holding my hand tightly in his when he noticed there was another guy in the store besides us and the clerk. And this guy looked rather suspicious in a black skull cap and baggy clothes.  
  
"We're doing just fine. It pisses me off though. I should be able to see him more than once every couple of weeks," I sighed grabbing a Snickers ice cream bar out of the case.  
  
"Angel, you knew this was going to happen. That's why you got so pissed about the situation to begin with," Shane replied grabbing a couple sodas.  
  
"Yeah, but it doesn't make it any easier. You try being away from the one you love!" I said. He looked down at me with a half smile and shook his head.  
  
"Honey, I might as well be away from the one I love. Wouldn't feel any different from the way I feel now," he said.  
  
"Oh Shane. I'm sorry. My brain just stopped working."  
  
"Yeah, I know, I saw the smoke coming out of your ears," he joked. I hit him gently with my hand but snuggled into his body as a cold chill ran down my spine. I looked behind us and saw that guy was staring at me.  
  
"Shane, I don't feel very comfortable. Can we get goin?" I whispered.  
  
"Yeah, come on," he said quickly paying for our stuff. We got into the car and I immediately locked the doors. "Freaky, huh?"  
  
"You could say that! I'm just glad I was with you," I said biting into the ice cream bar.  
  
**************  
  
"Shannon, just get your ass over here for a minute!" I laughed pacing around my room.  
  
"Why?! What the hell is so important that I run over there? It's gonna take 2 minutes out of my busy day!" he joked.  
  
"Right, like you have anything better to do!" I said. "Please, I need your help!"  
  
"Alright, be there in a few." He hung up and I stood in front of my bed, staring at the picture Jeff had given me.  
  
Shannon and I were the only one's that had this time off. After Sean and I had lost to the Dudleys at Unforgiven, they had put us both through a table. I received bruised ribs and Sean sprained his wrist. So we would get that following week off, only to come back the next RAW to sell our injuries and win the titles miraculously. Shannon was taking a little vacation, to spend time with Willow and Crystal. So Shannon was the only one that could run over and help her put the picture above the bed in the bedroom. Not too long after we had hung up, I heard Shannon's bike revving in the driveway. I heard him run up the stairs, tripping over Liger on the way, screaming out some obscenities to the poor dog. I rolled my eyes as he burst into the room.  
  
"Could you have done this without killing Jeff's dog?" I asked.  
  
"Probably, but would the fun in that have been?" he smirked.  
  
"Anyways, I can't get it up. I want it on the ceiling above the bed, but I'm too short. And I know you're too short to do it by yourself too," I smiled.  
  
"Yeah, just remember that for when you prank Paul so badly and need help getting out of trouble with him," Shan said.  
  
"Anyways, I was thinking if you stood on the bed and I got on your shoulders, we could get it up there," I said. He nodded at me and threw his shoes on the floor. He bounced on the bed a bit before allowing me to climb on his shoulders. I had no sooner gotten situated when I felt him move underneath me. "Shannon, hold still!"  
  
"I can't, it was the bed," he said trying to steady himself.  
  
"What do you mean it was the AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as we both came crashing down. The bed had kind of imploded beneath us. I had nailed my head on the headboard on the way down and Shannon had rolled off the bed.  
  
"You okay?" he asked sitting up on the floor. I rubbed my head and scrunched up my face.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just hit my head on the board. You?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm good," he sighed crawling next to me.  
  
"What the hell happened?"  
  
"I don't know. The bed just kinda gave way. Guess it couldn't hold us."  
  
"Where the hell's the picture?!"  
  
"Right there on the pillow. Doesn't look hurt, so stop freaking," he said.  
  
"Jeff's gonna kill me," I mumbled.  
  
"Let me run over to Matt and Amy's to feed Comet and I'll go bed shopping with you," he said as we both got to our feet.  
  
"I'll come with you. We'll take Jeff's truck," I said continuing to rub my head. We drove the short distance to Amy and Matt's, noticing that Amy's car was in the driveway.  
  
"Hello?" Shannon called.  
  
"Oh hey!" Amy called from the kitchen.  
  
"Matt asked me to look after Comet for you guys. What the hell are you doing home?" Shannon asked.  
  
"Yeah, Vince sent me home. I'm working the house shows on Friday and Saturday though," she replied. "So what are you two up to?"  
  
"We broke the bed," I answered shyly.  
  
"Oh I don't even wanna know how you and Jeff managed that one!" she laughed.  
  
"Yeah, um, well, ya see, Jeff and I didn't manage that one. Shannon and I did," I corrected her.  
  
"Then I definitely don't wanna know!" she exclaimed.  
  
"No, you've got it all wrong. I was helping Casey hang the picture Jeff gave her over the bed, but it gave out from under us. So we're goin to get a new one," Shannon explained.  
  
"I wouldn't go around tellin people you two broke the bed if I were you," she laughed.  
  
"Yeah, thanks for the suggestion!" I laughed as we left for Raleigh.  
  
***********  
  
"Damn it Jeff! I asked you to do a couple of simple things! I feel like I'm doing this whole wedding!" I yelled as he and I argued in the kitchen.  
  
"I'm sorry if I've got things to do too!" he argued.  
  
"You said it wouldn't be a fuckin problem! I thought I could trust you!"  
  
"Oh please, Case! That's a bunch of bull shit! Don't make me feel bad for something so stupid as this! It's not going to work!"  
  
"Stupid?! Jeff this is OUR wedding we're talking about!"  
  
"You're acting as if the thing is tomorrow!"  
  
"Jeff, we have to get as much done as possible cause GOD only knows when else we'll be able to do this shit!"  
  
"Casey, it's 8 months away! I'm sure in that time period we'll have time to plan everything!"  
  
"You don't know that!"  
  
"Casey, it was just a couple things. I'm sure we can get it all done these next couple of days. I just don't wanna fight. Especially not about this. We have a couple days to spend together. I don't want to mess up anytime I could spend with you in bed, fighting."  
  
"I don't want that either. I just feel so stressed. I know we have to get this stuff done. The invitations should go out in like November. I'm just worried we won't have enough time," I sighed as he wrapped his arms around me  
  
"Baby, we have plenty time." He kissed my forehead and started leading me up the stairs. "Now let's spend the nite together, just enjoying each other's company." We walked into the room, tearing clothes off each other as we made our way to the bed. Jeff knocked into it and stopped suddenly.  
  
"What's the matter?" I asked curiously.  
  
"My bed. This isn't my bed," he said looking at the one Shannon and I had bought.  
  
"Yeah, well, there'd be a reason for that. Shan and I kinda hurt the other one when hanging that up," I said pointing up at the picture. He started laughing and pulled me on top of him. There was a loud creaking sound as we suddenly crashed to the floor.  
  
"You two didn't do a good job finding another bed," he laughed. I buried my head in his chest and laughed with him. 


	34. Shaving Cream

"Happy birthday baby," Jeff smiled down at me. I yawned and lifted my head off the comforts of the pillow to kiss him.  
  
"Thanks," I replied. "I'm so glad to be home on my birthday for a change."  
  
"Me too," he said lying back down next to me. I rolled over and draped my arm over his bare chest. "Let's stay in bed today."  
  
"As much as I'd love to say yes to that, you know we can't. We have to go cake shopping today," I smiled.  
  
"But honey, the wedding isn't for another," he lifted his hand and counted his fingers. "Like 8 months away. Can't it wait?"  
  
"Unfortunately no. We have appointments with some of these people. We can't cancel on them," I answered him as Luna jumped off the bed.  
  
"Please?" Jeff pouted.  
  
"Well, since I love that look on you and all..........No," I laughed. "We have to keep them. Besides, we'll get to taste test a bunch of cakes."  
  
"We'd better or else," Jeff threatened with a sinister grin. I looked up at him and smiled curiously.  
  
"Or else what?" I asked.  
  
"Or else I'll," he paused and shifted his body a bit, allowing easier access to his pillow. "Or else I'll beat you with my pillow!" He laughed and started slamming me with his pillow. I pushed him off me and quickly grabbed my pillow, jumping to my feet, I started an assault on him.  
  
"You should know better than take me on in a pillow fight!" I laughed standing over him on the bed. He grabbed me and the waist and pulled me down on top of him. I smiled up at him as he leaned down to kiss me.  
  
"I love you," he whispered.  
  
"I love you too," I replied.  
  
**************  
  
"Dude, you should see the cake we ordered," I smiled slinging my gym bag over my shoulder as Trish and I walked out of the hotel gym.  
  
"What's it look like?" she asked pulling the top up on her water bottle.  
  
"Well, it's 5 tiers, chocolate with vanilla swirls in it, the icing is white chocolate, and there are gonna be blue roses cascading down the cake. It's going to be amazing!" I said excitedly.  
  
"Sounds it," she laughed. "How hard was it to get him to go with you?"  
  
"Getting him to go was the hard part. But once we were there and taste testing he was really enjoying himself. Made quite the little pig of himself," I chuckled.  
  
"So cute!" she giggled.  
  
"So how was home?" I asked as we rode the elevator up to our floor.  
  
"Well, I met a guy," she smiled.  
  
"Oh, tell me more!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Well his name is Chad and he lives in Toronto. He's an Indy promoter. He has beautiful deep brown and spiky light brown hair with blonde tips. He has his ears pierced and a tongue ring. And that is the best creation ever!" she laughed. "He's sweet and funny and VERY adorable."  
  
"Sounds it. I can't wait to meet him!" I smiled.  
  
"Well, I'll see you at the arena," she smiled as I left her at her room and walked down to my own.  
  
"End of days, and there's a full moon rising. End of days, and there's a full moon rising. Again," I sang as I entered my room. Shane peeked his head through the joining door and shook it.  
  
"Don't let Chris catch you singing his shit. He'll think you actually enjoy it!" Shane laughed.  
  
"I do it enjoy it and you do too," I smiled.  
  
"Well, I'm leaving in like 10 minutes, so be ready to go," he said shutting the door behind him.  
  
I sighed as I started to pack up my things. 'Another nite on the road. It's getting tiring, but somehow the entire crowd screaming my name makes up for it. Too bad I'm not hearing all the much screaming for me lately,' I thought.  
  
*****************  
  
'Just bring it.  
  
Bow down  
  
Bow down  
  
One, two, three  
  
Suck it up'  
  
Sean and I rose up on an elevator in the middle of a ring of fire, alla the Brood, as soon as my music hit.  
  
'It's not the end of the world  
  
It's just a phase  
  
They all love to see you fall  
  
Flat on your face  
  
It seems as hard as I try  
  
They underestimated  
  
I don't belong here anymore  
  
No, it's not me  
  
No, I can't breathe  
  
No, I am not afraid  
  
It's just the end of the day'  
  
"The following match is scheduled for one fall and is for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Coming to the ring, accompanied by Sean O' Haire. From Cameron, North Carolina, she's the current Cruiserweight Champion, MYSTIC ANGEL!" Sean and I held hands as we slowly walked down the ramp towards the ring. I had my black outfit with purple flames and Sean had on matching trunks and matching coat. My Cruiserweight belt sat on my shoulder while my hardcore belt hung around waist. I gave my hardcore belt to Sean and handed off my Cruiserweight belt to the ref. "And the opponent, weighing in at 165 lbs, from San Diego, REY MYSTERIO!!" Sean quickly slid out of the ring and left me in the middle to wait for Rey Rey. Rey posed for the crowd, but I was waiting right by the post for him. As soon as he jumped off I threw my arms around him and threw him over in a German suplex. I tried for a quick cover but he kicked out on one. I pulled him up and whipped him into the ropes. I went for a back body drop, but he rolled off my back and jumped up for a hurricanrana. He hooked my legs but I lifted my shoulders, kicking him off me in the process. We stood and instantly locked up. I backed him into the corner and the ref separated us. I turned around and was going to monkey flip him but he hit me with a crossbody. He tried for another pin, but I kicked out on two. He pulled me up and whipped me into the ropes. I locked my legs around his neck and hit a perfect head scissors. I ran to the ropes and did a rolling thunder only to have him lift his knees. I was sitting up on the mat grabbing my stomach in pain as he ran back to the ropes and towards me to do a neckbreaker. I laid on the mat and he covered, but I kicked out. He pulled me to my feet and tried to drop kick me, but I backed up and he landed on the mat. I quickly stood him up and hit a vertical suplex. Instead of trying for the pin again, I pulled him up and whipped him into the ropes, when he came back to me I lifted him in a tilt-a-whirl slam. I went for the cover, but he just barely kicked out. Frustrated I pulled him up and went for a DDT. He countered and pushed me into the corner. He pulled off a tornado DDT, but I didn't stay down. I stood right up, back to him. He drop kicked me and I fell onto the second rope. The crowd went wild as he did a 619. I stood up groggily and he hit the West Cost Pop. "Here is your winner and new Cruiserweight Champion, REY MYSTERIO!" Rey posed with his belt while I slowly walked up the ramp with Sean's help.  
  
"You know, you could have helped!" I yelled holding my head gingerly.  
  
"How would you have liked me to do that?!" Sean yelled back.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe stopping the damn 619?!" I suggested angrily.  
  
"Easier said than done Angel!" he yelled.  
  
"Listen, I've saved your ass HOW many times?! Just so you wouldn't lose that title of yours. And you can't save mine just ONCE?!"  
  
"Like I haven't helped you keep your damn precious hardcore title!"  
  
"You haven't! That's all been me!"  
  
"Bull shit!"  
  
"Go suck your dick, Sean," I growled walking off.  
  
"Case, you alright?" Rey asked walking up to me as I took a sip of water.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" I asked curiously.  
  
"Well, I thought I may have given you whip lash from that 619. I did kick your ass in that match," he smirked.  
  
"Bite me Rey," I laughed walking to the Diva's locker room.  
  
"Happy belated birthday, Darlin," I heard Dad say behind me.  
  
"Thanks Daddy," I smiled as he lifted me into his arms.  
  
"How was your birthday?" he asked.  
  
"Great, Jeff and I went wedding cake shopping. After I convinced him he'd have a good time eating all the samples," I laughed.  
  
"That's the only reason we do anything with the wedding. For the cake samples," he laughed.  
  
"I'd believe it. Who you got tonite?" I asked looking at him dressing wrestling gear with the WWE Championship belt around his waist.  
  
"Brock. Speaking of which, I gotta get to it. Where you off to tonite?" he asked.  
  
"Shane and I have the house show in Milwaukee. You off to Tucson after the show?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, you be careful," he warned kissing my forehead.  
  
"You too," I smiled as he walked off. I turned around and walked into the Diva's locker room. "What the hell happened to my stuff?!" I lifted up a saving cream covered bag as I yelled.  
  
"Don't know. We walked in with it like that," Amy answered.  
  
"You're shittin me right?" I asked.  
  
"Wish I was," she laughed.  
  
"Paul. It must be Paul! I'm gonna kill him!" I said throwing the bag down on the bench before I ran out into the hall to search for him. "Chris, you seen Paul anyplace?"  
  
"No, sorry Killer," he shrugged with a smile.  
  
"You know where he is, don't you?" I asked placing my shaving cream covered hands on my hips.  
  
"Oh no, not a clue," he replied with a sarcastic tone. "But good luck with the search."  
  
"I hate you," I growled as he walked away. "Hey Steph, where's you oh so lovely husband?"  
  
"Why? What's he done now?" she asked.  
  
"Covered my bag in shaving cream," I grinned.  
  
"Oooooh. That's not good," she chuckled. "Um, he may be talking with me Dad in the "office"."  
  
"Thanks," I said as I walked down the hall. I walked into the "office" without knocking and saw Paul sitting on a cozy leather couch with Randy and Vince. I stood in front of Paul and stared down at him menacingly.  
  
"Problems?" he asked.  
  
"You're an asshole," I said.  
  
"Oh, such harsh words!" Paul laughed.  
  
"You covered my bag, didn't you?!" I accused him.  
  
"Covered what bag? With what?" he asked.  
  
"You know what I'm talking about!" I yelled.  
  
"Randy, do you know what she's talking about?" Paul asked while Vince laughed at us.  
  
"I have a faint idea, Paul," Randy answered smiling up at me.  
  
"Do you mean that gym bag with the shaving cream?" Paul asked.  
  
"Oh gees, ya think?!" I said.  
  
"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I didn't do it," he smiled.  
  
"What?" I asked confused.  
  
"Paul's telling the truth. He didn't do it. He suggested it, but he didn't do it," Randy smiled shaking his head.  
  
"Then who did?" I asked.  
  
"Dude, the girls said that she was furious!" John laughed walking into the room holding a can of shaving cream. I turned to face him as his face turned a bright red and he frantically tried to wipe some stray cream off his Timber Wolves jersey.  
  
"YOU?!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Um, uh, ME what?" he asked.  
  
"You did that?!" I shouted as Randy and Paul started laughing hysterically.  
  
"Um, sorry?" he said.  
  
"You do realize that this is war right?" I asked.  
  
"No?" he said.  
  
"Oh yeah. It's war. You've just aligned yourself with Paul and that makes you the enemy. You do know all the shit I've done to him, right?" I questioned.  
  
"Um, yes?" he said.  
  
"Just ask him Cena. You're gonna wished you had never messed with the queen," I said pushing him out of the way so I could leave.  
  
"What have you gotten me into?!" John exclaimed throwing the empty can at Paul.  
  
***************  
  
A/N: I know this chapter is somewhat uneventful and short, but I really had nothing and I wanted to give you guys a chapter. I think this has like 3 more chapters left to it. I'm getting really anxious to start the last story in this series. I have some ideas for it. So I really wanna get that started. And the song I used is "Suk it up" by Hed PE. And I just got the worst news ever. My best friend is leaving. Jessy is goin to Guam with Jesse in February. She's leaving. I knew she'd leave to go live with him, but I never thought it'd be in a different country. And now I'm crying, so I'm gonna go watch Futurama and then LOTR. 


	35. Paybacks

A/N: Well, I believe there are like two more chapters left to this story. And I almost just had a heart attack. I'm watchin Leprechaun and all of a sudden I hear this rustling from my room, like blinds are being broken apart. My cats LOVE to sit in my window or on my stereo (which I hate that they do it), so I didn't really think anything of it. But the sound got worse and louder and I realized that there was another weird sound. Then it hit me, my INDOOR cat had pushed my screen out. I jumped up and ran into my room, kicking my other cat as I was running, and got in there just as my big white/black cat, Psycho, jumped out. I screamed for help and ran outside without thinking to shut my bedroom door or fix my screen from inside. Well, everyone was asleep of course, at 12:30 like most normal people would be. Well, I run around to the end of the house where my bedroom window is and called for my cat. He starts chasing this stupid moth so I take time to push my screen back in so my other cat, Snitch, doesn't get out too. So I'm calling for my cat and he's not coming to me, just runs around outside. I run back inside, yell for help again, and still no one came so I grabbed the cat food pail thinking he'd come to that. He didn't. Not at all. He just kept going around the house. So I finally run back inside after about 5 minutes of screaming for him, and wake my mom up. She jumps out of bed, cause this cat is her baby, and runs outside. She calls for him and he like runs for her. She grabs him and carries him inside. So now we're like monitoring all the windows and like shutting most of the way. It was horrible. He has to be like the best cat ever. And this isn't the place you want to have an outside cat. I live in the woods so all the wild animals are around. Like we get coyotes, and fox, and skunks, and all that good stuff. So he would never survive. It was so nerve racking. Anyways, the song in the chapter was "This is the New Shit" by Marilyn Manson.  
  
****************  
  
Sean and I stood in the ring, tired from just crushing the tag team of Chris Jericho and Matt Hardy. Chris and Matt laid off to the side, one on top of the other. Shane McMahon and Stephanie walked out side by side and stood at the top of the ramp. We smiled up at them as Shane brought a microphone to his mouth.  
  
"You two must think you're pretty damn smooth," he smirked. We gave him little shrugs as Sean put his arm around my waist.  
  
"Well, we're sick of hearing complaints from the other superstars about how you both just LOVE to hit your opponents with the IC belt," Stephanie shrieked.  
  
"You should know that cheaters never prosper," Shane said.  
  
"This Sunday at No Way Out, Sean, you'll be putting your Intercontinental title on the line," Steph smiled.  
  
"And Angel, you'll be MORE than welcome to join him in the ring. AS HIS OPPONANT!" Shane exclaimed  
  
"WHAT?! No, I most certainly am not!" I screamed.  
  
"We'll just see what this match does to Heaven and Hell," Shane laughed as he and his sister walked to the back. I looked up at Sean and for the first time since we had gotten together, there was an angry glare on our faces and we separately walked to the back.  
  
"What's wrong with your finger?" Sean asked as I tried to shake out my hand.  
  
"I jammed my finger into the mat," I cringed.  
  
"Probably sprained it."  
  
"Wouldn't surprise me!" I laughed.  
  
"Just wrap it and it should be fine," he smiled at me. "Oh, and I'll try to go easy on you on Sunday."  
  
"I can't say the same," I laughed leaving him to walk to the locker room.  
  
"Just a few more months!" Amy smiled as I walked into the room.  
  
"I know, it's so amazing. I can't believe it's almost here," I grinned thinking about the wedding. "Thanks for the bachelorette party last weekend. It was so awesome. Just don't tell Jeff that I got a lap dance from that guy."  
  
"Don't tell Matt," Amy laughed.  
  
"Ah," Trish sighed slipping her phone into her bag. Amy and I looked at each other and strode over to her.  
  
"Trish?" I asked.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, hi guys," she smiled.  
  
"What's got you acting like a little girl?" I asked.  
  
"Or who?" Amy smiled.  
  
"Chad," she sighed breathlessly.  
  
"Things goin well with Chad?" Amy asked.  
  
"Yeah," she replied.  
  
"Awwwwwwe," Amy and I cooed.  
  
"Oh shut up!" Trish laughed snapping out of her little world.  
  
"So, should I set a place for him at one of the tables?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, I think so," she smiled.  
  
"That's great Trish. I'm glad you started dating again. You really had me worried with the whole Tim thing. I'm glad you're up and about again," I said.  
  
"I wish you all could meet him sooner," she said. Amy and I smiled at her and walked to our bags.  
  
"One of ya'll is coming to my room tonite to do my hair, right?" I asked stuffing my things in my duffle bag.  
  
"Yeah, I told Matt that I was going to do that for you," Amy said.  
  
"I thought I would since I don't have a significant other here," Trish replied placing her hands on her hips.  
  
"We could have a girls' nite in?" I suggested.  
  
"Do you know what happens everytime we have a girls' nite in?" Trish asked.  
  
"Minus the alcohol," I laughed.  
  
"What's a girls' nite in without alcohol?" Amy questioned. Trish gave her a shrug as I threw a towel at her.  
  
*************  
  
"She's baaaaack," Jay laughed as I walked down the hall of the arena to get ready for No Way Out. I wasn't even dressed to wrestle yet and the original Mystic Angel was already popping through with my turquoise and purple streaked black hair.  
  
"That's right, and she's here to stay!" I smiled kissing his cheek. He just shook his head at me as I walked away.  
  
"Hey, Case, I um, I don't know about this prank," Shannon whispered as he walked next to me.  
  
"Shan, you're my partner in crime," I smiled as I spoke quietly. "You can't back out on me."  
  
"But John's never done anything to me," Shannon said.  
  
"Please Shan? You know I can't do this without you," I pouted.  
  
"Oh don't give me that look," he said as we stopped in the middle of the hall.  
  
"Please?" I begged.  
  
"No, Case, I'm putting my foot down this time. I'm not helping you!" Shannon exclaimed starting to walk away.  
  
"Fine you chicken!" I called after him. "We'll just see if I ever help him," I muttered slamming my way into the Diva's locker room, almost knocking Stacy over on my way in.  
  
"Whoa, chill," she smiled as she continued to put lotion on her legs.  
  
"So what's up?" I asked.  
  
"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "Your hair!"  
  
"Hey, now that I don't have to be partners with Sean anymore, I'm able to go back to being Mystic Angel," I smiled.  
  
"Wow, talk about 360," she laughed. "Was Andrew out there by any chance?"  
  
"No, didn't see him. Why?" I asked.  
  
"He was going to get dinner for me and him," she smiled.  
  
"Are you thinking bout datin him again?" I asked.  
  
"Well, we've kinda been dating for the past 2 months," she replied biting her lip.  
  
"And you kept it from me?!" I exclaimed. "Hell, HE kept it from me?!"  
  
"Yeah, we kept it from everyone," she said. "Well, I'm gonna go look for him. I'll see you in about a half hour to get ready for the show." She smiled at me and skipped out the door.  
  
"Hey, what's that?" Nora asked looking at a rolled up shirt in my hands.  
  
"I can't tell you. But you'll find out soon enough," I replied smirking.  
  
"Uh-oh, I know that look," she smiled crossing her arms. I wiggled my eyebrows at her and walked out into the hall. I was looking for the first guy that could possibly help me. Matt started walking by me and stopped to kiss my cheek. He wasn't the one to help me. Jay, Chris, and Rob traveled down the hall together, but I knew they wouldn't help, especially not Chris. Paul glared at me as he walked by me. I could sense he had some fear in him. Marc, Matt, and Devon smiled at me as they walked by. Kurt and Chris Benoit weren't too far behind. Torrie and Peter held hands as they stood at the coffee table. I was starting to run out of people.  
  
"Lookin for someone?" Randy asked me.  
  
"Nope," I replied.  
  
"You're looking for John aren't you?" he asked with a smile.  
  
"Nope," I said shaking my head with a smile on my face.  
  
He closed his eyes slightly as he looked down at me. "Ya know, I don't trust you."  
  
"And Randy, that's probably a good thing," I said poking him in the chest. I blew him a kiss and walked away.  
  
"She's a very scary girl sometimes," he muttered watching me leave.  
  
"Adam, my big brother, the father of my God son, the best wrestler ever," I paused to think of more compliments.  
  
"Don't bother. Just tell me what you want," he smiled at me.  
  
"Alright, so I have this little thing going with John Cena," I said.  
  
"Yeah, I heard about what he did to you awhile ago. I'm surprised you never got him back," he said.  
  
"That's what I plan on doing tonite. See I got word what jersey he was going to wear tonite," I smiled.  
  
"Oh no, what have you done to his jersey?" he asked crossing his arms.  
  
"I haven't done anything to his jersey. I bought one just like it and spray painted it. And I'm gonna take the real one so he freaks out," I explained.  
  
"You are evil Case," he laughed.  
  
"Right, so, can you help me?" I asked biting my lip.  
  
"What happened to Shannon? Isn't he your partner in crime?"  
  
"Yeah, well that little chicken wouldn't help me cause John hasn't ever done anything to him. So will you help me?"  
  
"Before I say yes or no, what would me helping you entitle me doing?"  
  
"All you have to do is take this jersey and switch it with the real one. Then give me the real one," I said holding out the decoy shirt.  
  
"Alright, I suppose I can help you this one time. But that's it. Just once!" he said taking the shirt from me.  
  
"Thank you so much! Have I told you lately how much I love you?" I asked.  
  
"Have I told you lately that I care?" he laughed as we went into singing the song together before he went into the locker room to switch the jerseys. He handed me the real one and I smiled. "So now what?"  
  
"We wait for his reaction. I think he's with Randy and Paul right now getting some food so he should be back sometime soon," I said tucking the jersey into my jeans.  
  
"Hey guys," we heard John's low voice speak. I winked at Adam and turned around.  
  
"Hey John," I said reaching up to hug him. "How was dinner with Paul and Randy?"  
  
"Filling," he laughed. "Good luck at the match tonite."  
  
"Thanks. Good luck with the tag match tonite," I said watching him walk into the locker room. I smiled at Adam and began to count silently to myself.  
  
"AH!" there was a deep yell from inside the room.  
  
"And begin," I smiled as John ran out with the spray painted jersey.  
  
"Jesus, what the hell happened to my jersey?" John cried staring at Adam and I.  
  
"I don't know. Have you done something to someone that you maybe shouldn't have messed with?" I asked curiously, holding my hands behind my back.  
  
"No, I don't think so!" he replied.  
  
"You haven't messed with Irvine or Levesque?" Adam asked.  
  
"No, no way," he said.  
  
"Hmmm, then who could have done such a horrible thing?" I asked sarcastically putting my hand to my chin. John looked at me curiously and crossed his arms.  
  
"You didn't," he growled.  
  
"I did," I nodded at him. "I told you that you shouldn't have messed with me."  
  
"Dude, you so suck! What the hell am I supposed to wear out there tonite?!" he exclaimed furiously.  
  
"You should have thought of that before you messed with me," I smiled.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me!" he said throwing his hands in the air.  
  
"Oh, by the way, did I mention that I bought that shirt?" I asked holding out his real shirt.  
  
"What?" he growled.  
  
"I bought that and spray painted it. Then I switched it with your real one. So really, the one you're going to wear tonite is safe," I smiled as I threw it at him, hitting him square in the face.  
  
"I'm going to hurt you!" he yelled dropping the jerseys on the floor getting this wild look on his face. My eyes grew wide as I took off down the hall. He wasn't too far after me and then all of a sudden I was lifted off the ground and carried into the men's locker room. "I'm going to get you back."  
  
"You do realize that this is going to be a never ending cycle if you don't put me down right now," I grinned as he carried me into the shower area.  
  
"Yeah and right now, it's worth it!" he laughed turning the cold water on in the shower.  
  
"John, don't you dare!" I yelled struggling to free myself. "I'm warning you!" He just laughed as he set me down in the middle of the shower with the water flowing onto me. "Fuck you!" I screamed as I jumped up freezing to death. "I'm going to hurt you." My teeth chattered as I spoke. He grinned at me and wrapped his arms around me as he pulled me out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around me and rubbed my arms.  
  
"Listen, I can be just as ruthless as you. So maybe we should call it even," he suggested.  
  
"Oh no. Not after that little shower stunt you just pulled," I said walking out of the locker room dripping with water.  
  
**************  
  
'Everything's been said before  
  
There's nothing left to say anymore  
  
When it's all the same  
  
You can ask for it by name'  
  
I stood in the back waiting for my cue as I fastened the Jeff Hardy necklace around my neck. I fixed the jelly bracelets I wore and rolled my shoulders. I was back to my old self. Baggy black jeans with Angel cut out on both legs and Mystic cut out on the ass. I wore a cut up black wife beater over a dark purple tank top. Yep, Mystic Angel was definitely back.  
  
'Babble, Babble, Bitch, Bitch  
  
Rebel, Rebel, Party, Party  
  
Sex, sex, sex, don't forget the violence  
  
Blah, blah, blah  
  
Got your lovey-dovey sad and lonely  
  
Stick your stupid slogan in  
  
Everybody sing along'  
  
It was so weird to hear this song being played as I stepped out and explosives went off. I had sat down with the king of grotesque himself, Marilyn Manson, to mix the song. It was a couple years old, but it was perfect for this coming out.  
  
'Are you motherfuckers ready for the new shit?  
  
Stand up and admit it, tomorrow's never coming  
  
This is the new shit  
  
Stand up and admit it  
  
Do we need it? NO!  
  
Do we want it? YEAH!  
  
This is the new shit  
  
Stand up and admit it'  
  
"Now entering the ring, from Cameron, North Carolina. She is the WWE Hardcore Champion, MYSTIC ANGEL!!" I ran down the ramp and slid into the ring. I stood up on the posts and posed for the crowd. I was getting the same reaction I used to. It was good to hear them cheering for me like that again.  
  
"I'm gonna rip you apart," Sean growled at me as we stood toe to toe in the middle of the ring.  
  
"In your dreams!" I yelled pushing him away and the bell rang.  
  
He started walking towards me and I hit him with a drop kick to the chest. That didn't nothing but push him back a bit. I bounced off the ropes to get more momentum and did another, more powerful drop kick, I got the same reaction. I growled and ran back to the ropes, but he walked towards me and stopped me with a clothesline. I felt as if my head flew over the ropes. He pulled me up by my hair and into a suplex to go for the cover. I kicked out on two. He pulled me up again and whipped me into the ropes. I saw he was going for another clothesline so I ran under his arm and bounced off the opposite rope. I caught him from behind and nailed a bull dog. I applied Halo's Ring, but he pulled me right to the ropes and grabbed on. I pushed his head into the mat as I stood. He quickly stood up and grabbed me from behind, throwing me back in a German suplex. He tried again for the cover, but I kicked out. He pulled me up and started hitting me with a bunch of judo kicks. I happened to grab his leg at one kick and he spun around, but I ducked and hit him with a super kick. He backed up, hardly phased. I whipped him into the ropes and did a back body drop. I turned around and ran to the post, practically jumping all the way up. I did Halo's Twist and went for the cover, miraculously, he kicked out. I pulled him up but he pushed me with all his strength right into the ref, who landed outside of the ring. I leaned against the ropes as Sean slid out and grabbed the belt. I rubbed my head, since it collided with the ref's, and he nailed me with the belt. I slid to the mat and Sean covered me just as the ref got back in the ring.  
  
"And here is your winner and still Intercontinental Champion, Sean O' Haire." I looked up and saw him walking back up the ramp. I rubbed my head from the belt shot as the ref helped me to my feet. 


	36. Stories

A/N: Okay one more chapter after this one. You're all gonna hate me for this one, I just know it. lol Oops. Anyways, the song I used towards the end is "Stories" by Trapt. I absolutely love this song and it works great for the part of the chapter that I used it in. Man, I can't wait for the reviews on this one! Lol Ummm, well, I think that's about it. Um, so, here's the chapter. HAHA!! Lol  
  
****************  
  
'Babble, Babble, Bitch, Bitch  
  
Rebel, Rebel, Party, Party  
  
Sex, sex, sex, don't forget the violence  
  
Blah, blah, blah  
  
Got your lovey-dovey sad and lonely  
  
Stick your stupid slogan in  
  
Everybody sing along'  
  
"The following match is scheduled for one fall and is for the WWE Hardcore Championship. Entering the ring first, from Cameron, North Carolina. She is the WWE Hardcore Champion, MSYTIC ANGEL!" It was my last Smackdown before the wedding. Saying that I was getting butterflies was an understatement. I handed off my belt and waited for my opponent. "And her opponent, weighing in at 275 lbs, from Detroit, Michigan, RHYNO!!"  
  
"Well, the man beast is set to go one on one against the Angel, Mystic Angel," Cole said. "I don't know about you Tazz, but I don't think Angel as a chance in hell in winning this match against Rhyno. She'll be lucky to come out alive!"  
  
"Cole, I think you're underestimating her talents. She's been WWE's Hardcore Champion for the past 8 or 9 months! She's a very talented and strong girl. Beautiful too," Tazz replied as Rhyno pulled me into a snap suplex. He slid under the ring and pulled out a trash can lid. I did a baseball slid right into it, slamming him back on the announcers' desk. "Oh, I'm getting out of here!" Tazz and Cole ran away from the desk and up the ramp, away from the match.  
  
I rolled him onto the desk and stood back to him, doing a back flip onto him and the lid that sat on his chest. I rolled off him in pain and struggled to my feet. He grabbed the lid and hit me in the head with it. He slid off the desk and crawled to the ring, pulling out a Singapore cane. He threw it to the side and pulled out a ladder. By the time he stood with it in his hands, I was ready and drop kicked him into the ring. I grabbed the ladder from him and slid it into the ring. I tried to follow, but Rhyno had grabbed my leg and pulled me back, making me land flat on the floor. He picked me up and slammed my back down on his knee. He grabbed the trash can and set it on top of me. I saw him getting ready to do a leg drop onto me and the can so I rolled under the ring, leaving the can for him to land on. I crawled out from under the ring and slid next to the ladder. I set it up for Heaven's Light as Rhyno was standing, and landed on top of him. I went for the cover and some how he kicked out. I pulled him up and slid him into the ring. I lifted him as best as I could and did a snap suplex. I opened up the ladder and climbed up. I signaled for a Swanton Bomb and he rolled out of the way. He lifted me up and I landed hard on the mat from a powerbomb. He did a leg drop and went for the cover. I kicked out. While he was under the ring, digging for more weapons, I caught my breath and rolled under the ropes and out of the ring. I grabbed a chair that one of the techs was sitting on and slid back into the ring. I held it, ready to nail Rhyno with it. He got back into the ring and ran at me at full speed. It was like a moving train was heading right for me. My eyes grew wide as I let out a quiet gasp. He plowed into me and the chair in a spear. He threw the chair out of the way and covered me. "And here is your winner and new WWE Hardcore Champion, RHYNO!" He stood and grabbed his belt from the ref. He posed for the crowd as the ref ran to my side. I breathed in and out deeply as I laid on the mat. My eyes were closed and my hands were covering my face.  
  
"Case, you alright?" the ref asked.  
  
"Just help me to the back," I groaned as he helped me to my feet and helped me to the back.  
  
"Baby, you alright?" Jeff exclaimed rushing to my side.  
  
"Yeah, just got the wind knocked outta me," I replied hoarsely.  
  
"Case, you alright? Did I hurt you?" Terry asked wiping his forehead with a towel.  
  
"Yeah, you just knocked the air out of her," Jeff answered for me.  
  
"Sorry Kid. You'll be fine," Terry smiled squeezing my shoulder.  
  
Jeff handed me a bottle of water and I sipped it slowly. "You feelin better?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I think I'll live," I smiled up at him. I kissed him quickly and he blinked at me.  
  
"What was that for?" he asked.  
  
"Just that there's 3 more days till our wedding," I replied.  
  
"Well, in that case," he grinned wrapping his arms around me and bending me down, his hand caressing the back of my head and the other holding me at my waist. He leaned down and kissed me deeply.  
  
"Ugh, get a room!" Randy exclaimed as he walked by us. He slapped Jeff on the back, causing us to collapse on the floor.  
  
"Randy, die," I growled playfully.  
  
"Love you too!" he laughed walking away.  
  
"I'm so glad you two decided to become friends," Jeff smiled sarcastically as he helped me up.  
  
"Mmm, with friends like him, who needs enemies?" I laughed.  
  
**************  
  
'I found a line and then it grew  
  
I found myself still thinking of you'  
  
"I don't want to be here today!" I exclaimed as Shane and I grabbed our luggage and walked through the airport terminal.  
  
"Hey, just think, the day after tomorrow we'll be getting ready for the rehearsal of your wedding!" Shane smiled draping his arm around my shoulder.  
  
"That doesn't make me feel any better. Just sick," I groaned as we walked up to Hertz. Shane grabbed the keys for the loaded Lincoln Navigator.  
  
"Are you getting slightly worried?"  
  
"No, I'm having second thoughts," I replied. He shot me a look of shock and shook his head.  
  
"Don't. You're gonna be fine. You'll be the fairy tale princess and he'll be your prince charming," Shane said throwing our bags in the back.  
  
"I hope you're right, cause if you're not, I'm coming after you!" I smiled.  
  
"Ah, you smiled! I think it may snow!"  
  
"It sure as hell better not!"  
  
'I felt so empty and now I'm fine  
  
But still it's burning, when will you be mine?'  
  
Shane and I stood at the Marriott hotel reception desk, waiting for someone to wait on us. I checked my watch, making sure we weren't going to be late for the signing we had at a mall in Boston.  
  
"Angel, don't worry about it, we've got plenty of time," Shane said shooting me a smile. I rolled my eyes and rested my arms on the desk.  
  
"Hi, can I help you?" a young woman asked walking up to us behind the desk.  
  
"Yes, we have a joining room booked for Shane Helms and Casey Piniarski," Shane replied giving off a dazzling smile.  
  
"Um, I'm sorry, we don't have a joining room booked for the two of you. We have a single room booked with a king sized bed," she said.  
  
"I booked the room myself and specifically asked for a joining room," Shane said. "Please look again."  
  
"Sorry, I don't have anything like that for either of you. I only have the single under the party of Piniarski/Helms," she repeated.  
  
"Well, then you've got things all wrong. Are there any joining rooms available?" I asked.  
  
'Too much of the same stories in our lives  
  
I think it's time for a change, don't you?'  
  
"I'm sorry, no. We're all filled up," she answered giving me an ultra sweet smile.  
  
"Are you sure there's nothing?" Shane asked.  
  
"Sorry there's nothing I can do," she said.  
  
"We'll just have to go someplace else," I said turning to Shane.  
  
"Well, you may have some problems there. As far as I know all the hotels in this area a full. There are a few conventions going on right now," she explained.  
  
"Great! Now what are we going to do?" I asked.  
  
"We're gonna have to take it Case," Shane said. I sighed and gave him the go ahead nod. Shane grabbed the key and we rode the elevator up to our room.  
  
"This better be a damn fuckin nice room!" I exclaimed crossing my arms just as the elevator came to a stop. We threw our bags on the floor in the room and quickly changed for the signing.  
  
We arrived at the mall right on time and were introduced out. There was a line of people wrapped around the mall. There had to have been over 200 people there. We started right away, hoping to get done before 5.  
  
"Ya know, you used to be my favorite diva," a teenage girl remarked as I signed her Diva's poster book. I looked up at her with the plastered smile on my face. She looked like a Lita clone.  
  
"Well thank you," I smiled.  
  
"I said used to. Once you broke Jeff's heart was the day I stopped being a fan," she snarled moving on to Shane. I shook off her comments and looked up at the next person, a guy in his 20's with an Undertaker t-shirt on. His hair was crew cut, much like John Cena's.  
  
"I always thought your ring name reflected your personality. But you've destroyed one too many guys. You're nothing more than a bitch," he muttered to me.  
  
"I'm sorry you feel that way," I said softly.  
  
'Too much of the same stories in our lives  
  
(I think it's time for us to walk away from here)'  
  
"Shane, if I get one more person telling me how horrible I am because I broke up with Jeff on the show, I'm going to punch them," I whispered to him angrily. He just reached behind me and rubbed my back gently.  
  
I looked up into a familiar face as they set the picture down. A boy about 14 years old stood in front of me smiling widely. I looked down at the picture and laughed.  
  
"Hey, I know this picture," I smiled looking back up.  
  
"Yeah, you took it with me a few years ago. I always wanted to meet you again, but I never could get to another show. So me and my Dad flew up here when he heard about the signing," he smiled.  
  
"That's great. I'm so glad you could come," I said signing the picture of us at a house show a few years ago. Matt was in the ring getting his ass beat by John while we were taking the picture outside the ring, complete with the Hardy gunz. "So, have you done anything about becoming a wrestler yet?"  
  
"Yeah, on my 16th birthday, my Dad is getting me lessons. I can't wait," he smiled. "Thanks a lot. It means a lot to me. And good luck with you and Jeff." He stepped over to Shane and I shook my head with a genuine smile on my face.  
  
"Ugh, if I had to hear one more person tell me that I was going to get mine for breaking poor little Jeffy's heart, I was going to go INSANE!" I yelled as Shane and I walked to the car, 3 hours after the signing started. We had decided to stay around for a little bit longer, just to get to all the fans.  
  
"You know what you need?" he asked.  
  
"Jeff?" I questioned.  
  
"No, you need a nite out. Dancing, drinking, partying. Just having a good time. So, what do you say? Tonite we go out for a nite in the city of Boston," Shane smiled. I sighed deeply and agreed that's exactly what I needed.  
  
'Now look at me still in your mind  
  
Our memories so intertwined'  
  
"Ya know, it's a good thing we came back now," I laughed uncontrollably, walking down the hall to our room, Shane hanging on to me for dear life. It was close to 3 in the morning and we were completely hammered. I was barely able to walk and Shane, well, he couldn't even do that.  
  
"And why's that?" he slurred happily.  
  
"Cause I'm gonna pass out!" I laughed.  
  
"Funny thing is, SO AM I!" he laughed with me as we both thudded to the floor in a heap in front of our door. "Case, you gotta stop moving, I'm seeing 3 of you."  
  
"Really? Cause I'm seeing 2 of you!" He slowly reached up and held onto the door knob, pulling himself to his feet. He opened the door and fell through it, with me on top of him, laughing harder than before.  
  
"Dude, we're wasted," Shane laughed.  
  
"You might be wasted, but I'm...........wasted," I agreed stumbling to the bed. I collapsed onto it and Shane laid next to me.  
  
'Well you broke through and found your way  
  
And so did I no need to stay  
  
The same old pictures, tried and true  
  
Been through there, looking for something new'  
  
I rested my head on Shane's chest and sighed contently as it heaved with each intake of air. "You smell nice," I smiled closing my eyes tightly.  
  
"Mmm, you too," he replied softly. I looked up at him, his eyes were closed tightly. I placed my lips on his gently, tasting all the liquor he had consumed. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me on top of him as he deepened the kiss. I pulled away and smiled down at him. His eyes connected with mine and we got lost in the moment.  
  
'Do you remember lying on the beach so late at night  
  
Do you remember running through the sprinklers that night'  
  
I straddled his waist and sat up placing my hands on his chest. He slowly reached up and caressed my face before tugging on my midriff tank top, pulling it over my head. I bent down and kiss his neck before he flipped me over on my back and bent over me. He pulled his shirt off and slowly worked his way down my body with his lips.  
  
'Do you remember all the songs that I have wrote for you,  
  
all the songs that I have wrote for you'  
  
"Shane," I moaned as his hands moved up and down my body, wet kisses placed on various parts.  
  
"Shh," he said smiling at me. His face was intense, set as if he had a purpose.  
  
'I remember, the way you made me feel when I was with you'  
  
"Just let me have this moment with you. Remember what we used to have," he whispered.  
  
"Shane, I," I was cut off by an intense wave of heat.  
  
'I remember, the smile that always brought me back to you'  
  
We smiled at each other, passion filled the room. It was unlike any other sensation I had felt. He made me feel like I was something different. He made me feel like I was someone special.  
  
'That look in your eyes I never thought that this could be untrue'  
  
I felt arms around me and smiled as they tightened around me. 'I love you Jeff,' I thought to myself as I opened my eyes. I was horrified to see that the person holding me so tightly wasn't Jeff, it was Shane. I sat up, careful to not wake him, and looked around the room. Our shirts laid in a pile on the floor, our underwear by the window, and our jeans hung off the tv. I climbed out of the bed and pulled a blanket with me, realizing I was wearing no clothes. I collapsed to the floor crying hysterically.  
  
"Casey?" Shane asked groggily. "Oh, my head."  
  
"Shane," I cried from the floor. He sat up sharply and gasped.  
  
"Shit! What the fuck happened?!" he exclaimed.  
  
"I don't know," I managed to choke out as he slid out of the bed and sat next to me on the floor, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I buried my head into his bare chest and cried as he rocked me back and forth.  
  
"Oh God Casey, I'm so sorry!" he said softly sounding as though he was crying too.  
  
"Shane, what have we done?" I asked looking up at him. He stared down at me and kissed my forehead.  
  
'Too much of the same stories in our lives  
  
I think it's time to change, don't you?  
  
Too much of the same stories in our lives  
  
(I think it's time for us to walk away from here)' 


	37. The Big Day

A/N: Well, this is it. The last chapter to Without You. Wow, this one is a big chapter. And sets up for the last story in the trilogy. That story shouldn't take to long to get started. So look for it in the next week or so. Um, I think that's it. I don't think I have anything else to say, but I'm glad ya'll enjoyed this story so much and I hope you stick around for the last one.  
  
*********  
  
It was the Friday before the wedding. The day of the rehearsal and Jeff and I were getting ready for the nite. Cleaning the house for the dinner, which would be a BBQ and very casual, and for him and the guys in the party to stay in someplace other than a pig sty. I wiped my forehead as I stood to take a break from tying a balloon to one of the picnic tables. It was a very warm afternoon, around 80, and the sun was bright. I had changed out of the jeans and sweatshirt I wore earlier, and into a pair of netted shorts and sports top. Jeff had pretty much striped down to his boxers, not caring who was going to show up. People would start to arrive any minute, so we worked hard to finish up the place, waiting for Amy and Matt to show up with a truck load of people. Luna and Liger jumped around, playing with each other in the mud hole that had yet to be made into an in-ground pool.  
  
"God, I hope it cools off baby. Otherwise you may be marrying a puddle tomorrow," Jeff laughed placing his hands on his hips, looking at the yard. I looked up at him. The moment my eyes hit his body tears started to sting my eyes. Shane and I had decided it was best not to tell anyone about what happened. Although I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep that quiet. Jeff sensed something was wrong and wrapped his arms around me. "What's the matter? You look as if you're almost in tears."  
  
"Nothing, I'm just so happy this day is finally here," I smiled looked up at him. He sighed contently and broke into a smile before picking me up in his arms. He carried me away from the tables and down the hill. "Where are we going?"  
  
"You'll see," he laughed as he broke into a strained run through the field. Everything was a blur as we passed all the chairs that were setup for the wedding and the white arch. Just when I thought we were stopping, I realized that I was falling down through the air. Jeff had leaped off the shore of the lake and threw me as he jumped. We both landed with a giant splash and I quickly came up, water dripping off me. He stood in the water laughing as I splashed him.  
  
"Jeff, this is SO gross!" I yelled. "AND VERY COLD!" He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him and lifting me off the ground. I kissed him deeply and we smiled at each other.  
  
"I love you Casey," he whispered.  
  
I stared at him and shook my head slightly. "Yeah, I love you too," I responded before we started walking back to the house.  
  
"CASEY!!" Jessy screamed to me as she and Jesse jumped out of Amy's SUV. I was slightly stunned as I turned to her, still wet from the afternoon swim in the lake.  
  
"I swear I didn't have sex with Shane!" I exclaimed before realizing what I said left my brain. She looked at me and shook her head confused.  
  
"What?" she asked with a laughed.  
  
"I said I didn't have sex over there," I corrected myself pointing to the track. "With Jeff I mean."  
  
"Yeah, um, thanks for sharing," she laughed. "One more day!"  
  
"Yeah, I know, amazing huh?" I smiled.  
  
"I'm so excited. This is gonna be awesome," she said looking me up and down then at Jeff who walked up behind. "But um, why are you two soaked?"  
  
"Oh, uh, well, we took a swim in the lake," Jeff laughed with an embarrassed tone.  
  
"A very unexpected swim," I laughed. "How was the flight?"  
  
"Oh fine, but um, Matt kinda drives like he's Mario Andrette," Jesse joked.  
  
"Thanks man," Matt smiled proudly as he walked up the deck steps into the house carrying Jesse's bags.  
  
"Yeah, you get used to it after awhile," Amy smiled. "So, anyone else here?"  
  
"No, Shannon's picking up Melanie, Matt, and Luke. I think Crystal's getting Trish and Chad. I think Alanah and Adam are coming with her too. Daddy should be here anytime now. He took K to the park and Sara went to get some flowers for the rehearsal," I explained as Amy, Jessy, and I left Jeff and Jesse.  
  
"So, getting nervous?" Jesse asked helping Jeff move a table.  
  
"Like you wouldn't believe," Jeff replied with a chuckle.  
  
"By the time you see her tomorrow, the nerves will all go away," Jesse smiled. Jeff nodded at him as they finished setting up for the dinner.  
  
********************  
  
"I've got friends in LOW places," Jessy and I sang the group of us girls, Jessy, Amy, Nora, Trish, and I, sat in Amy's living room.  
  
"Garth Brooks?" Nora asked.  
  
"Yeah, it was a song that kinda stuck with the two of us and our friend Amy in middle school," Jessy replied. "It's weird without her."  
  
"Yeah, I really miss her," I said trying to smile. "No more three musketeers."  
  
"You're getting married tomorrow!" Amy exclaimed making me laugh.  
  
The girls had gotten into some sort of video game so I walked out to the deck with my Skky Blue. I leaned over the railing and looked out towards home. I started thinking about what happened between Shane and I. I just hung my head in shame. It was a big mistake, I knew it, and I also didn't know how I was going to get through the wedding without telling someone.  
  
"Hey, you alright?" Nora asked placing a hand softly on my back.  
  
"Yeah, just wedding jitters," I smiled sipping my drink.  
  
"Oh, that's understandable," she smiled. "It's beautiful out tonite, isn't it?" She sat on the grass in the yard and looked up. I followed her and looked up as well.  
  
"Yeah it is. You see that star over there?" I asked pointing to one particular star.  
  
"Uh-huh," Nora smiled.  
  
"Shane got that star named after me one Valentine's Day. How sweet is that?" I asked laying down.  
  
"It's very sweet," Nora replied. "Listen, Case, I know some of the girls have been a little skeptically of you and Jeff bein together cause of how close you and Shane are."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah, but I want you to know that I don't think that. I think you two are gonna be great together," she smiled down at me.  
  
"Thanks Nora, I really appreciate it," I smiled back as she stood up and walked into the house, leaving me there to stare at my star.  
  
************  
  
My hair had been done, my nails were perfect, and all that was left was to put on my dress and jewelry. I just sat in front of the mirror and stared at myself. Everything from the past week kept running through my head. I was scared, confused, and pretty sure I was doing the wrong thing. I couldn't go through with it, and I knew it.  
  
"Casey, we have to get you into your dress! Only a few more hours!" Amy exclaimed carrying my dress with her.  
  
"I can't yet. I have to see Jeff," I said turning in my seat to face her.  
  
"You're joking right?" she laughed nervously.  
  
"No, I'm not. I have to talk to Jeff first. I'll be back in a few. Don't get ready until I get back, okay? And tell the girls the same thing," I requested as I ran out of the bedroom and out of Amy's house. I was a woman on a mission and no one was going to stop me. I ran into the house and was stopped by Matt.  
  
"Casey, bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other," Matt smiled.  
  
"I need to speak with him. Please just let me in?" I pleaded trying to push past him to go up the stairs.  
  
"Sorry, but I'm sure it can wait until after the wedding," he said crossing his arms.  
  
"Trust me, it can't," I argued. His face fell into a frown and led me up the stairs. I walked into the bedroom where the guys were half ready, some dressed in their pants, others not even close to that. "Guys, could you please excuse us for a few minutes? I have to talk to Jeff. It's urgent."  
  
"What's the matter Kiddo?" Adam asked placing his hands on my shoulders. I looked up into his blue eyes and shook my head.  
  
"I just need to talk to Jeff," I said.  
  
"Case, it's bad luck for us to see each other," Jeff spoke facing the wall, though I knew he was smiling.  
  
"I'll just be a few minutes. I'll let you guys back in when I'm done. Just go hang out with the girls," I smiled pushing them all out of the room. I walked behind Jeff after making sure the door was closed. I put my hand on his arm and turned him around to face me.  
  
"Baby, what's goin on?" he asked concerned.  
  
"Jeff, this is so hard for me to tell you. And I swore I wasn't going to tell anyone, but I can't marry you without you knowing," I said.  
  
"You're worrying me," he said as we sat on the bed facing each other.  
  
"The first thing you got to know is that I love you. I love you more than life it's self. And I what happened was a major mistake, one that I don't even remember making. I don't know what happened and if I could take it all back I would," I said as tears slid down my cheeks. He pulled me into his arms but I backed away, standing up, and crossing my arms.  
  
"What's goin on?" he asked, his eyebrows in a ruffle.  
  
"Wednesday nite, after the signing, Shane and I went out and partied. We drank SO much. We could barely walk and everything was blurry," I paused. "Well, we finally went back to the hotel around 3. Of course you know that we had to share a room, so that's not a big shock to you."  
  
"Casey, where are you going with this?" Jeff asked angrily.  
  
"I understand if you want to call the whole thing off. I just know that I wouldn't have been able to marry you without telling you what happened."  
  
"What the hell happened?!"  
  
"Shane and I slept together!" I cried.  
  
He started laughing and stood to wrap his arms around me. "Well of course you guys did. You had no other choice," he smiled.  
  
I pushed away from him and shook my head. "No, Jeff, we had sex. Or at least I think we did. We don't remember. We were so hammered. I can't even tell you how sorry I am."  
  
"What?" he asked backing away from me.  
  
"I'm so sorry."  
  
"Oh God," he said softly rubbing his face. "How could this happen?"  
  
"I don't know, I'm so sorry," I cried reaching out for him, but he pushed me away.  
  
"Don't touch me right now," he said softly.  
  
"Well, the wedding is up to you. I love you Jeff. Let me know whether you want it to go on, or to call it off," I said.  
  
"Casey, I love you so much. And hearing this hurts more than you could EVER imagine," he cried.  
  
"I know. And it hurts me to know that I hurt you. Cause that's truly the last thing I ever wanted to happen," I cried. He quickly walked to me and put his hands on my face, bringing my face up to his. He kissed me roughly, so rough it almost hurt. I looked up at him shocked as we split.  
  
"All I want is to know if you're going to be mine for the rest of your life," he said.  
  
"Yes Jeff. For ever and always," I replied.  
  
"Get the guys back in here and go get dressed," he said releasing me from his hold. I smiled at him and wiped my face as I walked out.  
  
"Case?" Matt asked.  
  
"You're free to go back in," I smiled.  
  
"Are you alright?" Shane whispered to me as the other walked back into the house.  
  
"Yeah, everything's going to be fine," I replied walking to Amy's to finish getting ready.  
  
A couple hours later I was dressed and fully prepared to marry Jeff. I stood with Dad on one arm and Mel on the other, waiting for the music to cue us to walk down. Finally, it was time. I looked down to the arch and smiled as Jeff looked up at me, tears evident in his eyes. Wind blew his hair lightly in front of his face as I stood in front of him. I hugged Dad and Mel before they let me go. Jeff and I faced each other and smiled. Everything was going just perfect.  
  
"Is there anyone here who believes these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold you peace." I took a deep breath when I heard the silence. "Alright......."  
  
"Wait."  
  
*************  
  
I look back on my wedding day years later and realize that I made one of the biggest mistakes in my life. But how can it all be a mistake when I'm the happiest person in the world. Maybe my wedding day didn't turn out to be the perfect storybook wedding I once told you, but I did have a wedding and married the love of my life. I love him more than life. We now have two beautiful children together, 5 year old Nero and 2 year old Alexandra. Alexandra looks so much like her father it's unbelievable. I couldn't wish for a better life. It's amazing how certain things happen and now I know that they happen for a reason. I'm no longer a wrestler, but I do appear on the WWE every so often. I'm a major writer for the company, sitting right along with Stephanie. We're in the process of working me in as GM or commissioner of some sort. I'll be so happy to get back on tv full time again. Many ask me if it's hard to be away from my kids like that, and I say no, because they travel right along with me. I wouldn't want it any other way. Well, I have to be going now. Maybe someday I'll tell you what really happened. Until then, keep thinking of that storybook wedding I once told you about. True it happened in my dreams, but it happened no the less. 


End file.
